GODFREY'S NARRATIVE 



OF THE 



LAST GRINNELL 

IN SEARCH OF 

SIR JOHN FRANKLIN, 

18S3— 4— 5. 

WITH A 

BIOGRAPHY OF DR. ELISHA K. KANE, 

FROM THE 

OEADLB TO THE GEAVE. 



BY 

WM. c. Godfrey. 

ONE OF THE SURVIYOKS OF THE EXPEDITION. 



SUPERBLY ILLUSTRATED 



L4/i\jL^y 



PHILADELPHIA: ^V 

J. T. L L O Y D & C O^ 

185t. 







Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1857, by 

E. LLOYD, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, in and for the 
Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 



PHILADELPHIA : 

STEREOTYPED BT GEORGE CHARLE3. 

PBI2«TLD BY KIXG & BAIRD. 






PREFACE 



■^ ♦ • » ►■ 



It has been a cause of deep regret with the author and 
publisher of this JN'arrative, that the circumstances referred 
to in the last chapter of the book, have delayed the publi- 
cation. As some passages in this volume are very much 
at variance with the common accounts we have of the 
temper and character of Dr. Kane, and likewise reflect 
somewhat on his conduct as a Naval Commander, it would 
have been more satisfactory if these charges had appeared 
during the Doctor's lifetime. But the explanations given 
by Godfrey himself show that the earlier publication of his 
book was impossible ; however anxiously he might desire 
to vindicate himself, and to remove the stains affixed to his 
character by the unfavorable mention made of him in Dr. 
Kane's book. It may be remarked that, if Dr. Kane 
were now living, he could not repel Godfrey's charges 
without a negation of his own statements. He has fully 
admitted, in his journal, the most material facts connected 
with that extraordinary affair — the attempt to take God- 
frey's life. He has not only related those facts distinctly, 
and with very little difference from Godfrey's own account ; 
but he has related them in a manner which seems to call 
for public approbation. This last-mentioned circumstance 
1 * (5) 



6 PREFACE. 

satisfies us that Dr. Kane thought that he was doing his 
duty on that occasion. Perhaps very few persons who 
read his book attentively will come to the same conclusion. 
The circumstances to be considered in connection with this 
matter are : 1. That Godfrey had formerly been dismissed 
by his Commander, with permission to return to the United 
States. Did this permission release him from his compact 
to serve for a certain term on board of the Advance f 2. 
When, under the pressure of starvation, he returned with 
his companions, to solicit relief from Dr. Kane, did this 
return renew his original obligations and restore him to his 
former position on board of the vessel ? 3. Could he rea- 
sonably be suspected of an intention to desert in such a 
country as Northern Greenland and in the midst of an Arctic 
winter ? If he did desert, in such circumstances, would 
his example be likely to be followed by others of the brig's 
company ? 4. Was his return to the vessel with a load of 
provisions such an act as might be expected from a de- 
serter ? 5. Was the Commander justified in shooting a man 
for a mere refusal to come on board ? 6. It appears that, 
according to the contract made with the seamen before 
their departure from New York, the strict regulations of 
the Naval service were to be dispensed with on this Expe- 
dition ; the discipline of the brig could not, therefore, 
justify the Commander in resorting to such an extreme 
measure as shooting a man to enforce an order. 

But, as the time has past when Dr. Kane could be held 
responsible for this act, we are disposed to consider it as 
an error of the judgment ; and it may be easier to excuse 
him on that score than to overlook the deliberate wrong 
which he has done to William C. Godfrey by making vague 
charges of delinquency against this man, who appears, even 



PREFACE. 7 

from the Doctor's own statements, to nave oeen the constant 
friend and benefactor of the whole brig's company. 

It is a remarkable fact that Godfrey appears, in the 
Doctor's narrative, only as a half-pardoned criminal, even 
when accounts are given of signal services performed by 
him at the imminent hazard of his own life ! And yet we 
have found scarcely any specification of a fault of sufficient 
magnitude to call for a private reprimand ; nevertheless, 
this unfortunate person has been rebuked by his command- 
ing officer before the whole world, and he may even be 
handed down to posterity as an object of distrust and 
abhorrence. 

The death of Dr. Kane does not make it less incumbent 
on our author to clear himself from undeserved censure. If 
any of the Doctor's fellow-voyagers, who profess so much 
love and reverence for the Doctor's memory, can show how 
Godfrey merited the harsh treatment he has received, they 
can do so as easily as Dr. Kane himself could, if he were 
now alive. 

Although the two parties to this singular controversy 
occupied very different positions on board of the exploring 
brig Advance, at the bar of the American public there is 
no recognizable distinction between Elisha K. Kane and 
William C. Godfrey. We feel confident that the decision 
of the public in this case will be in accordance with the 
dictates of '^even-handed justice." 

The merits of this work, as a complete and circumstantial 
history of the last Arctic Exploring Expedition, will be 
acknowledged, we think, by every candid and intelligent 
reader. 

Fhiladelphia, May 30, 1857. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

A common sailor's motives for going on a Polar Expedition 
— The Author^s particular inducement — No hope of glory 
or pecuniary profit — His anticipations of perils and suffer- 
ings — His reliance on his physical energies — The fate of 
the Arctic voyagers — Dr. Kane^s unhappy destiny — His 
funeral honors — Reports concerning them — The Author's 
vindication — His reasons for writing a book, 17 

CHAPTER II. 

Object of the Expedition — Where the exploration was to be 
carried on — Greenland — A frightful country — Land travel- 
ing in the Polar regions — Dog sledges — Navigation of the 
icy seas — Dangerous sailing — The Author's views respect- 
ing the fate of Sir John Franklin and his party — Tribute 
to Lady Franklin — The absurdities of Arctic explorations 
— Queer fancy of a great explorer — The Author's plebeian 
notions, 23 

CHAPTER IIL 

The voyage begun — Public demonstrations — The Author's 
emotions — He alludes to an affair of the heart — Catalogue 
of the ofl&cers and crew — The exploring brig, Advance^ 
proceeds to St. John's, Newfoundland — The officers and 
orew lionized — The voyage continued — Arrival at Fisker- 
naes — Hospitable reception — The Esquimaux — Their 
comical appearance — Their peculiarities of character — 
Hans Christian, the commander's pet, 31 

(9) 



10 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER lY. 

Fiskernaes — The Author's hard service— Visit to a Moravian 
mission hous*^ — Two queer old missionaries — Sucertoppen 
— Its magnificent peaks — Arrival at Proven — Grand fancy 
ball — The American sailors dance for the honor of their 
country — The Author invited to open a dancing school — 
His qualificatioiiS — We proceed to Upernavick — The town 
and its inhabitants — Mr. Petersen, 41 

CHAPTER V. 
We leave Upernavick and bid adieu to the habitable world — 
The DeviPs Nip — Icebergs — Their magnificence and sub- 
limity — Rocks imbedded in their sides — This phenomenon 
accounted for — The Author's moonlight musings — A 
strange fancy — Our brig in danger — Miraculous escape — 
Towed by an iceberg — Arrival at Hakluyt Island — Dr. 
Kane and the Author catch a cold duck, 48 

CHAPTER YI. 

Mr. William Morton's famous discovery — The Author's mis- 
givings on the subject — Yisionary mistakes and hallucina- 
tions of Arctic travelers — Blood-stained snow — No ac- 
counting for the phenomenon — We enter Smith's Sound 
and meet with great obstacles — The Author's peculiar 
hardships — His unpopularity among the officers — Hints 
for American seamen, 58 

CHAPTER YII. 
We visit a desolate island- — Melancholy signs of former in- 
habitants — We are frozen up — Extricate ourselves by hard 
labor — Anchor under God-send ledge — Terrific storm — 
Desperate situation of the Advance — A bold expedient — 
We are again towed by an iceberg — Our miraculous de- 
liverance — Probable fate of Sir John Franklin, 64 

CHAPTER YIII. 

Abatement of the storm — Repairing damages — Dr. Kane and 

several other persons get adrift — The Author goes to their 

assistance — A golden opportunity lost — The commander's 

projects — A consultation of the whole brig's company — 



CONTENTS. 11 

The Author makes a speech which astonishes and dis- 
pleases the officers — He is suspected of a mutinous dispo- 
sition, 72 



CHAPTER IX. 

The Advance proceeds further northward — Hard work for 
the sailors — The Author and several others of the crew 
start on a sledge journey — They break through the ice — 
Severe sufferings — Hydropathy — Sleeping in ice— Trouble- 
some cooking — Ascent of an iceberg — A singular fox-hunt 
— A prize secured — Great rejoicings — Account of the blue 
fox — Its valuable fur, etc., 81 

CHAPTER X. 
What our sledge party discovered — No open Polar sea — 
Alarming condition of the travelers — An audacious fox — 
The Author's power of endurance — Several of his com- 
panions in despair — They are in danger of freezing to 
death — Their inclination to go to sleep — Suffering makes 
them insane — Provisions exhausted — Miraculous preserva- 
tion, 92 

CHAPTER XI. 

Our sledge party return to the brig — We find the Advance 
in her winter harbor — Preparations for the dark season — 
Strange fancy of the dogs — Their troublesome behavior — 
Why they like human society — The Author's objections to 
dogs as draught animals — Another sledge journey — Hor- 
rors of the Arctic winter — Dr. Kane's warlike demonstra- 
tion against the rats, 101 

CHAPTER XII. 

Termination of the dark season — Grand jubilee — An ex- 
ploring party — Inauspicious beginning of the journey — 
Our traveling costume — Gloomy anticipations of the tra- 
velers — The Author's pet fox — His great achievements 
among the rats — -A suggestion for sporting gentlemen — 
Singular rat trap — Sad intelligence from the exploring 
party, 112 



12 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XIII. 
Dr. Kane and several men go to the relief of the persons 
supposed to be dying — Slow and troublesome traveling — 
Ohlsen's noble conduct — He walks twenty miles without 
any toes — Dr. Kane's sufferings — His life in danger — We 
reach the tent where our sick companions are lying — Their 
miraculous preservation from death — Dr. Kane's prayer,.. 120 

CHAPTER XIV. 

A terrible journey over the ice — Suicidal drowsiness of our 
people — They become desperately somnolent — Dr. Kane 
and the Author travel by themselves — The Doctor's vision 
of a bear — The Author's troublesome duties — He carries 
the doctor on his shoulder — The Doctor mistakes him for 
a bear — The Author shaves the Doctor with a jack-knive 
— Strange fact respecting spirituous liquors, 129 

CHAPTER XV. 

Return of the rescue party — Our great danger and providen- 
tial deliverance — The whole company become delirious — 
Strange phases of insanity — The Author's feelings of des- 
peration — Terrible sufferings of his half-frozen companions 
— Arrival at the brig — Death and burial of Schubert and 
Baker — We are visited by savage Esquimaux — Hans Chris- 
tian's romantic love affair, 139 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Dr. Hayes and the Author cross Smith's Sound — Troubles 
and disasters — Successful explorations — Horrors of star- 
vation — The Author's boots and breeches used for feeding 
dogs — Hard fare — The grand excursion of the season — 
Sickness prevails — Dangerous illness of Dr. Kane — Bears 
steal our provisions — Our desperate condition — We are 
obliged to turn back — Various afflictions, 147 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Several traveling parties sent out — Their ill success — Morton 
and Hans Christian travel northward — Their famous dis- 
coveries — A separation of our company — The Author, with 
seven companions, permitted to leave the brig — They tra- 



CONTENTS. 13 

vel southward — Are overtaken by the winter — Their un- 
paralleled sufferings from cold and famine — The Author 
visits an Esquimaux settlement — The generosity and be- 
nevolence of these " barbarians^' — Their houses, modes 
of living, etc., 155 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

The Author and his party endure all the horrors of famine — 
They resolve to return to the brig — The Author^s reluct- 
ance to go back — He complies with the wishes of the ma- 
jority: — Another troublesome journey — The Esquimaux 
try to out-yankee the Yankees — They miss their figure — 
Virtues of " Godfrey's Cordial'' — The Author's success- 
ful stratagem, 166 

CHAPTER XIX. 

The wanderers return to the brig — Some of them are taken 
sick — Dr. Hayes has his toes cut off — Starvation on ship- 
board — Prevalence of the scurvy — The men dying for want 
of fresh provisions — Several parties sent out to procure 
food — The cold drives them back — The Author's solitary 
journey of ninety -five miles — His daring enterprise suc- 
ceeds — He obtains a supply of fresh meat — More of Hans 
Christian's love affair, 177 

CHAPTER XX. 

The Author returns to the brig with a load of fresh meat — 
His warm reception — He becomes a target for pistol and 
rifle practice — Refuses to come on board — Dr. Kane and 
Bonsall try to compel him — He treats the doctor disrespect- 
fully and retires under a galling fire — His desperate jour- 
ney back to Etah — He is overpowered by the cold, and 
sinks down in a snow-drift — His providential escape, 185 

CHAPTER XXI. 

Hans Christian proves that fear can make a man sick as well 
as love — Godfrey continues to supply the brig's company 
with provisions — Dr. Kane sends another order for him to 
come on board — He disobeys — The Doctor comes after 
him— An exciting dialogue between Kane and Godfrey — 
2 



14 CONTENTS. 

When threats fail, Godfrey yields to persuasion — He re- 
turns to the brig, and meets with a cordial reception from 
his comrades, 192 

CHAPTER XXII. 

Dr. Kane's unfavorable notice of Godfrey — Charge of deser- 
tion and mutiny — Godfrey's defense — Comments of the 
North British Review — That periodical condemns Dr. Kane 
and exculpates Godfrey — Godfrey submits his case to the 
arbitration of public opinion — A warning to oppressors,. . 202 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

The Author goes on another provision-hunting expedition — 
He chases a bear — Mutiny among his dogs — He shoots a 
seal and satisfies the demands of the canine mutineers — 
Scarcity of provisions at Etah — The Author extends his 
journey to another settlement — Meets with the men who 
took " Godfrey's Cordial^' — Their appreciation of the joke 
— A bear fight — Various adventures — Godfrey returns 4o 
he brig with a load of fresh meat, 209 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

Final abandonment of the brig Advance — Her probable fate 
— Commencement of a sledge and boat journey — Hercu- 
lean labors and slow progress — Elopement of Hans Chris- 
tian — Fatal accident — Death and burial of Mr. Ohlsen, the 
carpenter — Scarcity of provisions — Robbery of duck nests 
— Slaughter of sea-fowl — "We meet a Danish boat — Arrival 
at Upernavick — Our reception — Embarkation for the 
United States— Arrival at New York, 219 

CHAPTER XXV. 

Concluding observations — The Author's unfortunate posi- 
tion — Results of the Grinnell expedition — What was dis- 
covered — Explorations of the coast — Important additions 
to geographical science — Meteorological observations- — The 
open Polar sea — Suggestions by the Author — He expresses 
his willingness to join another expedition, 227 

Biographical Sketch of Dr. Elisha K. Kane, 235 




WM. C. GOI>rilEY. 



GODFREY'S NARRATIVE 



OF THE 



GEINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION, 



< ♦ • » ^ 



CHAPTER I. 

A COMMON sailor's MOTIVES FOR GOING ON A POLAR 
EXPEDITION — THE AUTHOR'S PARTICULAR INDUCE- 
MENT — NO HOPE OF GLORY OR PECUNIARY PROFIT — 
HIS ANTICIPATIONS OF PERILS AND SUFFERINGS — HIS 
RELIANCE ON HIS PHYSICAL ENERGIES — THE FATE OF 
THE ARCTIC VOYAGERS — DR. KANE'S UNHAPPY DES- 
TINY — HIS FUNERAL HONORS — REPORTS CONCERNING 
THEM — THE AUTHOR'S VINDICATION — HIS REASONS 
FOR WRITING A BOOK. 

It is not very easy for people in general to under- 
stand the motives which impel some men to undertake 
toilsome and dangerous enterprises, without much rea- 
sonable expectation of fame or profit. In exploring 
expeditions, as well as in warfare, the commander and 

(17) 



18 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE 

his principal officers obtain nearly all the credit ; and, 
if there are any emoluments or spoils, they commonly 
have the ^'lion's share" of these also. I have nothing 
to say against the propriety and justice of this arrange- 
ment ; but while the honors and rewards due to great 
undertakings are distributed in the manner just speci- 
fied, it may be difficult for some people to conceive 
why any man should consent to play a subordinate 
part in those undertakings — assuming a full share of 
the dangers and inconveniences thereof — without any 
prospect of celebrity or pecuniary recompense. 

In the last arctic voyage of Dr. E. K. Kane and his 
company, I served on board of the exploring brig, 
"Advance^'' in the humble situation of a sailor '^before 
the mast." Or, to speak more correctly, I shipped 
with the understanding that I should be required to 
perform the duties which properly belong to that ob- 
scure station. Thus far the agreement was punctually 
fulfilled by the contracting parties on both sides ; for 
I received the regular wages of a man before the mast, 
and nothing more ; and I executed all the tasks which 
a seaman in my situation could be expected to perform, 
to say nothing of many other tasks and services which 
were purely gratuitous on my part. 

In order to become an arctic sailor, with the pay of 
eighteen dollars per month, I quitted a far more agree- 
able employment, which aiforded me more than three 
times the amount of compensation just mentioned. 
This, of course, will be considered as a fair example of 
that worldly wisdom for which sailors are not remark- 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 19 

able; but it would be doing some injustice to Jack's 
general reputation to make my individual imprudence 
a mere illustration of a professional trait, seeing that 
I was not a regularly trained seaman, but adopted the 
mariner's vocation only as the means of gratifying my 
unconquerable love of adventure. When I determined 
on making a voyage to the polar regions, I had no 
thought of acquiring glory ^ no notion of writing a book 
of travels after my return, no expectation of seeing my 
name in print ; and could I have entertained such fan- 
cies, they would not have been a sufficient inducement 
for me to submit to all the risks and sacrifices which 
this voyage would require. To come to the point at 
once, I was led, by a romantic taste for whatever is 
strange and marvelous, to visit a region which seemed 
to be enshrouded in mystery, and which was supposed 
to contain many scenes and objects that have no coun- 
terparts in any other quarter of the world. In addi- 
tion to this motive, a feeling of national pride and pa- 
triotic enthusiasm prompted me to assist in an enter- 
prise which, as I believed, would add new lustre to the 
glory of my country. 

I expected to meet with many dangers and hard- 
ships in my arctic travels, but these anticipations gave 
me little uneasiness ; for I placed much reliance on my 
personal strength and prowess, and on my powers of 
endurance. Nature had given me a tall and muscular 
frame, and habit had inured me to the extremes of heat 
and cold. I felt an assurance, therefore, that I should 
be able to perform all the labors, and to endure all the 



20 GODFREY S NARRATIVE OF THE 

hardships, which my duty as an arctic sailor woiild im- 
pose on me. 

It is needless to deny that there was somewhat of 
youthful audacity, somewhat of a restless craving after 
novelty and change, mingled with the better impulses 
which engaged me in this enterprise, the results of 
which have been calamitous to some of my fellow-ad- 
venturers, and particularly so to our commander him- 
self. Possibly some of us may have been made wiser 
and better men by the lessons of adversity which we 
received during our wanderings in the realms of per- 
petual ice ; but (moral and mental improvement out of 
the question) I do not know that any of us received 
much individual benefit from the voyage. Several of 
my comrades lost their lives, in consequence of their 
unparalleled sufferings in the polar climes. Dr. Hayes 
lost his toes, which were frozen and afterward ampu- 
tated; and two or three others of our company met 
with similar misfortunes. But my loss appears to be the 
most afflictive of all ; for I find, with equal sorrow and 
surprise, that I have lost some reputation by my con- 
nection with this enterprise. On this painful topic, I 
shall have more to say hereafter. 

Dr. Kane himself was singularly unfortunate; al- 
though, in some respects, he appeared to be most 
highly favored. It is stated that some booksellers have 
reaped immense profits from the sale of his narrative ; 
and they are probably the only persons to whom this 
arctic voyage has been profitable, so far as money 
matters are concerned. Dr. Kane, as I understand, 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 21 

was but indifferently remunerated, in any way, (except- 
ing the complimentary notices of the newspaper press), 
for the eminent services he undoubtedly rendered to 
the public. His untimely death gave his countrymen 
an opportunity to express their gratitude by funereal 
demonstrations ; and I should speak of his obsequies 
with unalloyed gratification, were it not commonly re- 
ported and believed that even these " empty honors 
to the dead," were contrived by speculating ingenuity 
to answer the purpose of an advertisement, and to pro- 
mote the sale of a book ! 

I have hinted, somewhere above, that when I com- 
menced my voyage to the frozen ocean, I had no in- 
tention of embarking afterward on the still more cheer- 
less sea of authorship. Such a project as writing a 
book never presented itself to my mind until I discov- 
ered that my conduct as a seaman, and my moral cha- 
racter itself, had been, in some measure, assailed by 
publications already made. I hope that the public is 
disposed to believe that the reputation of a " common 
sailor" may be of some value — to himself, at least — ^es- 
pecially if it is his sole inheritance and the sum total 
of his earthly possessions. I complain not of the nega- 
tive injustice which may have been done me by with- 
holding the credit to which I consider my services 
fairly entitled, but I consider myself bound to repel 
any statements which may be construed as aflfecting 
my character as a man and a seaman. 

Nevertheless, I do not flatter myself that the vin- 
dication of an obscure individual like myself would ob- 



22 Godfrey's narrative of the 

tain the ear of the public, if unaccompanied by matters 
of greater importance and more general interest. I 
have, therefore, prepared a narrative of the events of 
the Grinnell Exploring Expedition, which I can consci- 
entiously recommend to the public as a faithful and 
true account of that enterprise ; and, in some respects, 
the most complete account that has ever been pub- 
lished. No one can deny that the several narrativCvS 
of this expedition which have already appeared, are 
somewhat contradictory and irreconcilable. I have no 
doubt, or I wish to believe, that the authors of these 
various narratives intended to relate facts as they oc- 
cured ; but, in spme instances, their memories appear 
to have failed them, or they were not correctly in* 
formed in relation to matters w^hich did not come under 
their own personal observation. During the whole pro* 
cess of exploration by Dr. Kane's party, I was engaged, 
without intermission, in the most active duties. I was, 
therefore, an eye-witness of almost every important 
event connected with these explorations. I have no 
motive for misrepresentation ; and I believe that my 
memory is suflSciently retentive to enable me to relate 
every notable adventure of our party precisely as it 
took place. At all events, I shall be careful to do no 
injustice to any man, living or dead, in the course of 
my recital. 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 23 



CHAPTER II. - 

OBJECT OF THE EXPEDITION WHERE THE EXPLORATION 

WAS TO BE CARRIED ON — GREENLAND A FRIGHTFUL 

COUNTRY — LAND TRAVELING IN THE POLAR REGIONS 
— DOG SLEDGES — NAVIGATION OF THE ICY SEAS — DAN- 
GEROUS SAILING — THE AUTHOR'S VIEWS RESPECTING 
THE FATE OF SIR JOHN FRANKLIN AND HIS PARTY^ — 
TRIBUTE TO LADY FRANKLIN — THE, ABSURDITIES OF 
ARCTIC EXPLORATION — QUEER FANCY OF A GREAT EX- 
PLORER — THE author's PLEBEIAN NOTIONS. 

Before I begin my narrative of the Grinnell Explor- 
ing Expedition, I wish to give the reader a clear under- 
standing of its objects. Ostensibly, the principal de- 
sign was to search after the missing navigator, Sir 
John Franklin, concerning whose '' mysterious fate" so 
much has been said and written, and in whose behalf an 
abundance of public sympathy and many thousands of 
dollars have been expended to little or no purpose. It 
was conjectured that Franklin and his companions, or 
their mortal remains, might be found in some part of 
Greenland, or in the adjacent seas: and accordingly 
those localities were to be the scenes of our exploring 
operations. Greenland is an extensive region, which, 
for the most part, is a mass of rocks, interspersed with 



24 Godfrey's narrative of the 

glaciers or rivers of ice, which have a slow progressive 
motion toward the sea. The most southern point of 
Greenland is Cape Farewell, in lat. 59° 49', Ion. 43° 
54^ Concerning the northern and eastern coasts, very 
little is known. Greenland was formerly supposed to 
be a peninsula attached to an arctic continent ; but 
recent discoveries make it appear that this region is a 
group of two or three large islands^ surrounded by 
several smaller ones. The neighboring seas, bays, and 
sounds are, at all seasons, more or less encumbered 
with ice 5 and, at some particular times in the year, 
are totally unnavigable. The climate of Greenland is 
intensely cold, especially in the more northern lati- 
tudes, and during the arctic night, which lasts for seve- 
ral months. Greenland belongs to the Danish govern- 
ment, which has several trading stations on different 
parts of the coast. There are many Exquimaux settle- 
ments scattered over the country. Some of the Es- 
quimaux are partly civilized, having become so by con- 
stant intercourse with the Danish settlers, who supply 
them with European commodities in exchange for skins, 
blubber, &c. 

The northern parts of Greenland are not inhabitable 
even by the Esquimaux them-selves, who are fitted by 
nature and habit to endure more cold than any other 
human beings on the face of the earth. The surface 
of the country is too rough to afford any facilities for 
traveling; and the neighboring waters when frozen 
over, as they generally are, present similar obstacles, 
as the ice is full of boulders, hummocks, bergs, and 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION". 25 

other obstructions. The usual mode of traveling on 
land and on the ice is in sledges drawn by dogs. No 
other vehicle and no other draught animals could be 
used, probably, in these localities ; and the dog-sledge 
conveyance itself is liable to many inconveniences. 
The Esquimaux dog, used for this purpose, is neither 
large nor powerful. A team of six or eight dogs can 
transport a moderate load over the snow or ice, at the 
rate of from fifty to sixty miles per day, provided the 
route is favorable ; but when the track is very rough, 
as it often is, the strength of the dogs is wholly unequal 
to the task of drawing the .sledge. In these circum- 
stances, the driver must dismount and assist his team 
by pushing behind and lifting the sledge over the ine- 
qualities of the road. 

The navigation of the polar seas and sounds is at 
tended by still greater difficulties, and is never free from 
danger. When there is a track open for the passage 
of the ship, it is generally a sort of canal (technically 
called a ^Mead'') with an icy embankment on each side. 
One of these embankments, called the ''land ice,'* is 
usually stationary, being part of a large mass of ice 
many miles in extent, and connected with the shore. 
The other side of the canal, or "lead,*' is generally a 
movable body of ice, called a ''floe," which is often 
driven by the wind or tide with tremendous force 
against the land-ice, closing up the canal or lane of 
open water, and sometimes crushing an unfortunate 
ship which may happen to be sailing therein. The ice 

on both sides of the canal, or "lead,'' is often twenty 
5 



26 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE 

or thirty feet in height, above the level of the water ; 
and the "floe," or movable body of ice, is commonly 
of immense magnitude, so that its momentum, when it 
is set in motion by the tide or wind, is irresistible. 
The stoutest ship must inevitably be crushed, if caught 
between the icy masses. Ships intended for arctic 
navigation are built in a particular style, the hull 
being wedge-shaped, so that when pressed on each 
side by approaching masses of ice, the vessel is forced 
upward, and thrown on her beam ends on one of the 
icy platforms. This is the only contrivance which 
could save a vessel from being broken to pieces, in 
such circumstances. 

I need not remind my readers that the navigation 
of a sea which is agitated by powerful winds, is always 
dangerous ; but sailing on an ice-encumbered sea, such 
as I have described, is perilous in the highest degree. 
In this case, you are surrounded by breakers of the 
most formidable character — breakers of ice which are 
more to be dreaded than the " insidious rock,'' because 
the latter lies still, and may be avoided by the skillful 
management of the vessel; but the uncertain motions 
of the masses of ice in the polar seas, often make a 
collision with them unavoidable. Very often, the arc- 
tic navigator is menaced with destruction on all sides ; 
the multiplicity of dangers distracts his attention, and 
makes him powerless and inactive at the very moment 
when all his energies should be aroused. 

In short, the dangers of arctic navigation are so 
great and so complicated, that we should not wonder 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 2T 

at any loss of life or any destruction of ships engaged 
in that service ; on the contrary, every escape of the 
arctic voyager appears to be almost miraculous. I fear 
there was a good deal of insincerity exhibited by those 
experienced old seamen, who affected to consider that 
it was almost impossible that Sir John Franklin and 
his company should have perished while making their 
polar explorations. My own limited experience con- 
vinces me that nothing could be more probable than 
the total destruction of Franklin's party before the 
expiration of their third year in that most inhospitable 
climate. If, as Dr. Kane seems to have supposed, 
some of their party might still have been living in the 
northern regions of Greenland, at the beginning of the 
year 1853, they must have acquired an aptitude for 
living in ice quite as wonderful as the salamander's 
supposed ability to live in fire. Granting that Frank- 
lin and his company might have obtained a sufficient 
supply of provisions to maintain themselves for seven 
or eight years in such a country as northern Green- 
land, how would they have supplied themselves with 
fuel and other appliances to keep themselves from 
freezing in a climate where the temperature, for the 
greatest part of the time, is from 40° to 55° below zero ? 
True, they might have used their ships and boats for 
firewood, but even that supply would not have lasted 
the whole time. We burned about half of the Advance 
and her combustible equipments in a single winter, 
and with all that waste of valuable burning material, 
our men suffered excessively from the cold. 



28 Godfrey's narrative of the 

I do not believe that there was a single survivor of 
Franklin's party in 1853 ; and I do not consider that it is 
presumptuous for me to say so, in opposition to the ex- 
pressed opinions of some distinguished navigators ; be- 
cause I am satisfied that these '' old salts" were prompted 
to express such opinions by the warmth of their feelings, 
and not by the sober dictates of their judgment. A 
very amiable sympathy for Lady Franklin, (that rare 
and admirable Penelope of modern times,) influenced 
several experienced naval officers, familiar with the 
perils of arctic travel, to express hopes which they 
could not have felt, in order to administer consolation 
to that bereaved lady who is so unwilling to believe in 
her own widowhood. 

A ''common sailor," conscious of his privilege as an 
American freeman, takes the liberty to declare his 
solemn conviction that any polar expedition in search 
of Sir John Franklin, after the year 184-6, must be 
considered as a futile enterprise, in which human life 
was exposed to unnecessary hazard. No man can re- 
gret the fate of Sir John Franklin more than I do — no 
man can feel a greater admiration for the conjugal de- 
votion of his lady ; but I cannot approve of the sacrifice 
of many lives in the prosecution of needless searches 
which can aS*ord no relief to the lost commander, and 
no satisfaction to his widow, whose agonizing suspense 
is merely protracted by these unprofitable inquiries. 

I strongly suspect that the most distinguished arctic 
navigators have generally been men of ardent tempera- 
ment, whose generous enthusiasm more than counter- 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 29 

balanced their rational and reflective powers. It is 
impossible, in any other way, to account for the reck- 
less hardihood with which these undertakings have been 
repeated, in pursuit of objects which were too evidently 
unattainable, and which, if accomplished, might not 
have been of sufficient value and importance to deserve 
the efforts which have been made for their attainment. 
Of course, in this connection, I do not speak of the 
search after Capt. Franklin, for that was an object on 
which too much time, labor, and money could not be 
expended, while there was any hope of success. But 
the arctic seas have been explored for several other 
objects, not one of which, if attained, could have been 
of much practical utility to mankind, on account of the 
difficulties which beset the navigator of those seas 
at every stage of his progress. The discovery of a 
shorter route to the East Indies, via the Arctic seas, 
is the most rational object that ever engaged the atten- 
tion of polar navigators ; but what would avail a shorter 
route, if it were found to be impracticable, or if tra- 
velers by the new route were liable to be frozen up for 
two or three years while on their passage ? 

One of the arctic explorers (Capt. Parry) considers 
that the successful navigator of the icy ocean would 
be well remunerated for all his toils and dangers, by 
having it in his power to boast that he had placed his 
foot on the pivot of the earth's axis ! I have seen the 
time (while journeying in the neighborhood of the pole) 
when it would have pleased me much better to place 
my foot on a warm stove-plate, or in a pile of hot 
3^ 



30 



GODFREY S NARRATIVE OF THE 



ashes, than to have accomplished that object, which 
appears to have been the apex of Captain Parry's am- 
bition. But I am a plebeian — a mere Jack-tar — and 
of course cannot be expected to appreciate the noble 
aspirations of an accomplished gentleman and a naval 
oflScer of high rank, like Captain Parrj. 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. SI 



CHAPTER III. 

the voyage begun — public demonstrations — the 
author's emotions— he alludes to an affair 
of the heart — catalogue of the officers and 
crew — the exploring brig advance proceeds 
TO ST. John's, Newfoundland — the officers and 

CREW LIONIZED — THE VOYAGE CONTINUED — ARRIVAL 
AT FISKERNAES — HOSPITABLE RECEPTION— THE ES- 
QUIMAUX — THEIR COMICAL APPEARANCE — THEIR PE- 
CULIARITIES OF CHARACTER — HANS CHRISTIAN, THE 
commander's PET. 

On the memorable 30th day of May, ISSS, the ex- 
ploring brig Advance, fitted out at the expense of Mr. 
Henry Grinnell, and under the command of Dr. E. K. 
Kane, of the United States Navy, started on her last 
voyage from New York. The wharves were crowded 
with spectators to witness her departure ; the air re- 
sounded with huzzas and the strains of martial music— 
the valedictory greetings of our fellow-countrymen, 
who thus expressed their enthusiastic approbation of 
our enterprise. It was an exhilarating moment for 
all on board ; every man of our company, from the 
commander down to Mons. Schubert, the French cook, 
must have experienced a feeling of expansion for the 



82 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE 

time being, as though we had all been suddenly en^ 
larged to heroic dimensions. I, who never suspected 
before that I possessed any element of greatness, was 
agreeably surprised to find myself one of the " observed 
of all observers ;'' and while the tarry ropes glided be- 
tween my fingers, my eyes were almost ready to stream 
with tears of joy and gratitude. In the excitement 
of that moment, my thoughts wandered to one to whom, 
with youthful indiscretion, I had dedicated my early 
affections, and whose condition in life, being far supe- 
rior to my own, made this aberration of my youthful 
fancy doubly indiscreet. But on this occasion, the 
public attention which had been attracted to our party, 
so excited my organ of self-esteem, that my erring 
attachment no longer seemed presumptuous; and I 
began to suspect, for the first time, that the mandate 
which forbade my approach to the object of my affec- 
tion was tyrannically severe. 

My comrades; who were probably less sentimental 
than myself, appeared to enjoy, with unmingled delight, 
the vociferous plaudits they received from the crowds 
on the wharves. Several of them had friends and re- 
latives among the assemblage, to whom they made their 
adieus with sailor-like levity. I must acknowledge 
that I saw none of those affecting leave-takings which 
my learned comrade, Professor Von Sonntag, refers 
to as being among the incidents of our departure. Se- 
veral steamboats, thronged with passengers, and pro- 
vided with bands of music, accompanied us several miles 
on our voyage. Our patriotic feelings were stimulated 




ESQUIMAUX GUIDE, 



GRINNELL EXPLORINa EXPEDITION. 35 

by the performance of national airs, and the display 
of the "stars and stripes" from every point where a 
flag-staff could be planted. Thus the commencement 
of our voyage was all romance and unalloyed pleasure, 
like the commencement of the voyage matrimonial; 
and, like many who embark in the last-mentioned en- 
terprise, we enjoyed our honey-moon, unmindful of 
the icebergs to which our course was directed. 

The Advance^ in which we were now sailing, was 
not a "ship" (as one of my traveling companions is 
pleased to call it, repeatedly), but an hermaphrodite 
brig ; that is to say, a combination of brig and schooner. 
The hull was altered and adapted to the purposes re- 
quired ; the bow or fore-part of the vessel being so filled 
up with timber as to be almost solid. This contrivance 
w^as intended to fit the vessel for butting against icy 
impediments, when they were of such a nature as would 
admit of their being broken or displaced by collision 
with the head of the brig. The shape of the Adva7ice 
was altered to suit the exigencies of arctic navigation; 
the sides of the vessel were so fashioned, that when 
caught between two masses of ice, she would be forced 
upward instead of being crushed. 

The brig, as I shall show hereafter, was not supplied 
with the necessary stores and equipments ; and hence 
the sufi*erings of the crew in the polar regions were 
much aggravated. I should think that all who were 
concerned in fitting her out ought to have known that 
we were not going on a holiday excursion. My object 
in alluding to this deficiency of equipments, is not to 



80 Godfrey's narrative of the 

cast censure on any person, but to admonish others, 
who may contemplate similar undertakings, to make 
suitable provision for the health and comfort of the 
seamen. And I would earnestly advise my brother 
sailors to be well assured that all the necessary prepa- 
rations for the voyage have been made, before they 
enter their names on the books of any vessel which 
may be about to start on a polar expedition. 

The officers and crew of the Advance consisted of 
eighteen persons, namely : — 

Dr. Elisha Kent Kane, Commander. 

Henry Brooks, First Officer. 

Isaac J. Hayes, M. D., Surgeon. 

August Sonntag, Astronomer and Draughtsman. 

C. Ohlsen, Carpenter. 

Seamen. 

George Riley, George Stephenson, 

James McGarry, George Whipple, 

Henry Goodfellow, John Blake, 

John W. Wilson, Jefferson Baker, 

Amos Bonsall, William C. Godfrey. 

Thomas Hickey, Cabin Boy. 
Peter Schubert, French Cook 
William Morton, Steward. 

On the 2nd of June, eighteen days after we left New 
York, we arrived at St. John's, Newfoundland, where 
Dr. Kane made some necessary additions to his supplies 



GRINNELL "EXPLORING EXI EDITION 31 

and equipments. We obtained at St. John's a quantity 
of beef and mutton, which we prepared for preservation 
by a process, well known to mariners, called ''marl- 
ing." In this process, the bones are removed, and 
the meat, after being salted, is hung upon the rigging 
to dry. At St. John's we also procured some addi- 
tional tinware and cooking utensils, and several dogs 
of the celebrated Newfoundland breed, which we intended 
to use as draught animals when we should arrive in 
those regions where the services of these quadrupeds 
are indispensable. Our passage from New York to St. 
John's was not very agreeable, — the weather being, foi 
the greater part of the time, quite boisterous. Oui 
deck cargo was much disarranged by the pitching of 
the vessel and some of the " green-horns," myself in- 
clusive, were considerably sea-sick. However, in this 
affliction I had very respectable company, for Dr. 
Hayes, whose seafaring experience was not much more 
extensive than my own, suffered considerably from gas- 
tric discomposure. By the way, it may as well be men- 
tioned here, that Dr. Hayes, who did duty as surgeon 
on board of the Advance^ was not a regular sea-bred 
" saw-bones," — but had previously been doing duty on 
dry land, in the capacity of a country physician, and 
resided in some rural village near Philadelphia. He is 
a gentleman whom I very highly esteem ; but I must 
say, nevertheless, that, like almost every other person 
who has undertaken to give an account of the Grinnell 
Expedition, he has made some statements which are 
not quite accurate. 
4 



38 Godfrey's narrative op the 

The English authorities at St. John's gave us a 
hearty welcome. Governor Hamilton especially ren- 
dered us every service that was in his power ; and, 
among other acts of kindness, he presented us with a 
fine team of Newfoundland dogs, which afterward proved 
very useful to us in our sledge journeys over the ice. 
We remained at St. John's two days, during which we 
were considerably lionized by the inhabitants, — the 
ladies in particular, who seemed to regard us as a 
^' noble army of martyrs,'' about to oflFer ourselves as 
a willing sacrifice on the altars of science and humanity. 

From St. John's we steered, as nearly in a straight 
line as possible, for the coast of Greenland, direct- 
ing our course, in the first place, toward a Danish 
settlement, called Fiskernaes, — situated near the en- 
trance of Davis' Strait. We came within a few miles 
of this place on the 1st day of July ; but, as the 
atmosphere was very foggy, we had some diflSculty in 
finding the settlement. Another seaman and myself 
were sent ashore in a boat to obtain a pilot. We 
landed on the coast, after some hard rowing, — and on 
approaching a hut which we saw at some distance 
from the water, — we met a queer specimen of human 
nature, — a dumpy, duck-legged fellow, who proved to 
be a " cross" between Dane and Esquimaux. After 
both parties had stared at each other suflSciently, we 
began to communicate by signs, — and thus we contrived, 
after a great deal of trouble, to make the Green- 
lander understand what we wanted. The reward of 
an invalid jack-knife induced him to enter our boat and 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. ' 39 

pilot US to Fiskernaes, which we reached after 
a pretty hard row of four hours duration. The '' Gov- 
ernor/' as the resident agent of the Danish government 
is called, gave my companion and myself a hearty re- 
ception, and treated us to a lunch, consisting of a lump 
of rye bread and a glass of grog for each of us. After 
this refreshment, we engaged a pilot, recommended to 
us by the Governor, and embarked with him in our 
boat. The brig was standing off and on, awaiting our 
return, — but we were obliged to row eight miles before 
we reached her. With our pilot's assistance, the Ad- 
vance soon entered the harbor of Fiskernaes. As soon 
as we came to anchor, the Governor sent a boat with 
an invitation for the officers to come on shore, and 
attend du.fete which his Excellency gave in honor of our 
arrival. The invitation was accepted by Dr. Kane, 
Dr. Hayes, Mr. Brooks, and Mr. Sonntag. Bonsall and 
I were selected to row these gentlemen ashore. The 
inhabitants of the town, Danish and Esquimaux, 
crowded the beach to see us land. They appeared to 
be very much amused at our appearance, and laughed 
in our faces without any restraint. We did as much 
for them, as their figures and dress were no less ridicu- 
lous in our eyes than our tout ensemble was in theirs. 
The Esquimaux in general are about as comical a race 
of mortals as ever I had the good fortune to meet 
with. Their corporal construction itself is unlike that 
of mankind in general, and they make themselves still 
more uncouth by their grotesque style of dressing. I 
think Professor Sonntag contradicts the common report 



40 Godfrey's narrative of the 

that these people are dwarfish in stature, and avers that 
they are very little, if any, below the average height of 
Europeans. The Professor must have observed them 
through a convex lens, or some other magnifying medium, 
— for all my observations tend to confirm the general 
statement, that the tallest of them are below the middle 
height of Englishmen and Americans. Their complex- 
ions appeared to me to resemble those of the North 
American Indians in general, — but in elegance of 
figure, in nobility of character, in bodily activity and 
courage, they are very far inferior to the aboriginal 
inhabitants of the American continent. However, the 
Esquimaux have some admirable traits ; they are very 
hospitable to strangers ; they are exemplary in all their 
domestic relations, and the several tribes maintain a 
peaceable and friendly disposition toward each other. 
They have none of that vengeful ferocity which is im 
puted to savage tribes in general — in fact, there is 
nothing sanguinary or warlike in their character. 

The Esquimaux who reside near the Danish settle- 
ments are partly civilized, and many of them are as good 
Christians, at least^ as their Danish neighbors. One 
of these converted Exquimaux, a youth about eighteen 
years of age, named Hans Christian, was shipped on 
board of the Advance at Fiskernaes, and afterward 
became very useful to the Expedition and a special 
favorite of Dr. Kane, to whom he is indebted for as 
much celebrity as he deserves. 



GBINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 41 



CHAPTER IV. 

nSKERNAES — THE AUTHOR'S HARD SERVICE — VISIT 
TO A MORAVIAN MISSION HOUSE — TWO QUEER OLD 
MISSIONARIES — SUCKERTOPPEN — ITS MAGNIFICENT 
PEAKS — ARRIVAL AT PROVEN — GRAND FANCY BALL — 
THE AMERICAN SAILORS DANCE FOR THE HONOR 
OF THEIR COUNTRY — THE AUTHOR INVITED TO OPEN 
A DANCING SCHOOL HIS QUALIFICATIONS — WE PRO- 
CEED TO UPERNAVICK — THE TOWN AND ITS IN- 
HABITANTS — MR. PETERSEN. 

FiSKERNAES is the most southern port of Greenland. 
It scarcely deserves to be called a town or village, as 
the only building of any importance which it contains 
is the governmental store-house, or depot for Danish 
merchandise, which is replenished, once a year, on the 
arrival of a ship sent from Denmark for this purpose. 
The Governor has the management of this store-house, 
to which the Esquimaux resort for the purpose of ex- 
changing their furs and other commodities for European 
goods. Fiskernaes is situated, if I remember correctly, 
about nine miles from the southern extremity of Davis 
Strait. Besides the trade which this settlement carries 
on with the Esquimaux of the interior, it does a good 
deal in the fishing way ; indeed its cod-fishing affords a 
4^ 



42 Godfrey's narrative of the 

considerable revenue to the Danish government. The 
name of the present governor is Lassen ; his estima- 
ble qualities and his pipe-smoking propensities have 
been spoken of at large by some of my illustrious pre- 
decessors, especially by Mr. Sonntag, whose German 
sympathies were naturally enlisted in behalf of a gen- 
tlenaan who could smoke tobacco for forty-eight hours 
without intermission. In justice to Mr. Lassen, I 
must say, that he deserves to be commemorated for 
more gentlemanly attributes than we can easily 
connect with the character of an incessant tobacco- 
smoker. 

As it was my good or ill fortune to be one of the 
most stalwart and active '' hands '' on board of the 
Advance, it was my lot to perform a full share of the 
most laborious duties ; such, for instance, as rowing the 
small boat, AYhile the brig lay in the harbor of Fis- 
kernaes, I had the honor to row Messrs. Kane, Hayes, 
and Sonntag to a neighboring missionary establishment 
at Lichtenfels, where the Moravians have a sort of 
monastery, if it is no offense to give it that name. 
Our officers received a cordial welcome from two 
brethren of the Order, the only survivors of some six 
or eight of their fraternity, who established themselves 
in this desolate place about thirty years ago. The 
missionary house is an antiquated building, in the 
Dutch style of architecture, one story high, and '^ hip- 
roofed,'' with a droll little steeple and belfry on the 
top. On glancing around on the hideous landscape, 
where nothing could be seen but rocks stuccoed with 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 43 

ice and plains carpeted with eternal snow, I felt the 
conviction that men who could dwell contentedly in 
such a place for more than a quarter of a century must 
be either sanctified or insane. The dress of the two 
brethren who received us, like the architecture of their 
dwelling, belonged to a former century. While I looked 
at them, I could scarcely persuade myself that they 
were not two of the Seven Sleepers, who had just waked 
up, after their protracted nap, and had not had time 
to change their apparel. The good old gentlemen gave 
us an excellent dinner, cooked of course in an antique 
style, by the silver-haired matron of the establishment; 
and, after the repast was over, Dr. Kane and the 
Moravian brethren had a lono: confab on relio;ious sub- 
jects, in which the Doctor always took a lively interest. 
After our return to the ship, our commander sent me 
back to the Leichtenfel missionaries with a philopena, 
consisting of about two barrels of excellent Mercer 
potatoes, which they received with many grateful 
acknowledgments. 

From Fiskernaes we proceeded slowly, on account 
of adverse winds, to another Danish settlement, called 
Suckertoppen, (Sugar-peak,) from some fancied re- 
semblance of a stupendous rocky spire, at the entrance 
of the harbor, to a sugar-loaf. I supposed this peak 
to be more than 2,600 feet high. It is truly a mag- 
nificent object, when the observer is near enough to 
perceive its astonishing altitude and dimensions. In 
comparison with this great work of Nature, the tallest 
Egyptian pyramid, the dome of St. Peter, or any other 



44 Godfrey's narrative of the 

production of human art, would appear perfectly insig- 
nificant. 

Our next remove was to Proven, situated on the 
western coast of Greenland, several miles above Sucker- 
toppen. At all of these Danish settlements we stopped 
to obtain additional supplies of furs, carpenter's tools, 
and other necessaries, with which our brig had not pre- 
viously been furnished. A few more dogs of the Es- 
quimaux breed, famous for their sledge-drawing abilities, 
were shipped at Suckertoppen and Proven. At the 
last-named place we remained more than two days, 
enjoying the luxuries and amusements of the locality; 
and while there, we were lionized almost as much as we 
had previously been at St. John's, but in a somewhat 
different style. The Governor of Proven gave a grand 
fancy ball for our special entertainment. All the ladies 
of the settlement, Danish and Esquimaux, and all the 
male aristocracy of the place, participated in this ele- 
gant /ete, which, as we were informed, was never sur- 
passed in splendor by any thing of the kind which the 
oldest inhabitants had witnessed. The saloon in which 
this ball took place was an apartment over the store- 
house, the floor of which consisted of boards which had 
never been profaned by a touch of the jack-plane. In 
the ceiling over head were seen the naked rafters, and 
the slate-roof inclining on each side, like an angular 
sky, to the plane of the horizon. This chamber, now 
devoted to Terpsichorean festivities, had been for 
twenty years at least in the undisturbed possession of 
the rats, which appeared to consider that they had 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 45 

acquired a legal right to the premises. Owing to the 
shape of the ceiling, the dancers were confined to the 
middle of the room, while, in the angles where the 
ceiling and floor came together, the rats, w^ith " shock- 
ing taraeness," sat in full view, and watched our mo- 
tions with their sharp twinkling eyes, which seemed to 
sparkle with indignation at our intrusive audacity. 

The company was such as I never saw in a dancing 
Baloon before, and never expect to see again. Imagine 
a score of Esquimaux ladies, in seal-skin pantalettes 
(fur side outward), long boots of the same material, and 
''monkey-jackets," as the sailors call them, composed 
of coarse cotton cloth obtained from the Danish store- 
house. The costume of the Esquimaux men was very 
little different from that of the females. The personal 
appearance of both sexes was more striking than pre^ 
possessing. Their short and broad faces, flat noses, 
wide mouths, and big round eyes, their long bodies and 
duck legs, their copperish complexions, their perpetual 
broad grins, their uncouth gesticulations, all these pe- 
culiarities together gave me the impression that they 
were the most extravagantly burlesqued specimens of 
humanity that were ever produced in Nature's work- 
shop. The Danish portion of our company made a 
somewhat better appearance ; but when the dancing 
commenced, the scene altogether was so exceedingly 
funny" that no description could do it justice. Every 
gentleman of the company selected a female partner, 
and then we executed some of the most original waltzes 
and polkas that ever were witnessed between the paral- 



46 GODFREYS NARRATIVE OF THE 

lels of 20^ and 80^ North latitude. The general impres- 
sion seemed to be that whoever could jump highest and 
fall hardest was the greatest adept in the graceful art 
of dancing ; and several of our ship's company, being 
young and active fellows, far surpassing both Danes 
and Esquimaux in agility, acquitted themselves much 
to their individual credit, and to the honor and glory 
of the nation which they represented. The ladies of 
the party expressed much admiration of my perform- 
ance at their ball, and several of them were pleased to 
remark, that if I would remain at Proven and open a 
dancing-school, I could, no doubt, obtain a very liberal 
share of public patronage. By the way, all the knowl- 
edge of dancing which I possessed must have been in- 
tuitive, as I had never received any instruction in the 
art, and my postures and motions, which elicited so 
much applause, were all of my own invention, and were 
most extravagantly original. 

Having greatly improved our stock of provisions, &c., 
at Proven, we took leave of our numerous friends and 
acquaintances at that place, got our brig under weigh, 
and steered for the port of Upernavick, the most north- 
ern Danish settlement on the coast of Greenland, in 
lat. 72° 40^ N., Ion. 56° W. from Greenwich. This 
village consists of some half a dozen comfortable wooden 
houses, occupied by the Danish settlers, a store-house, 
a carpenter's shop, a blacksmith's shop, and several 
Esquimaux huts composed of earth or clay. In all of 
these Danish settlements on the coast of Greenland, 
the population is partly composed of a mixed breed of 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION 4t 

Danes and Esquimaux ; a '' cross" which, in the opinion 
of our astronomer Sonntag, is superior to the original 
stock on both sides. This opinion is not very compli- 
mentary to the Danes. They, to do them justice, could 
hardly be improved by an amalgamation with the Es- 
quimaux, who are, physically and intellectually, inferior 
to any race of people in the world, except some tribes 
of Africans, which are scarcely allowed, by several sci- 
entific writers, to take rank among the human species. 
At Upernavick we opened a trade with the settlers 
and natives, bartering knives, cheap jewelry, beads, &c., 
for furs and fresh provisions. We also obtained another 
team of dogs at this place, and engaged a Dane named 
Petersen, who resided here, to accompany us as an in- 
terpreter, to facilitate our communications with the 
more northern tribes of Esquimaux. Mr. Petersen 
made himself generally useful on board of the brig ; he 
was a skillful hunter, and a tolerable carpenter ; and, 
unlike our commander's pet, Hans Christian, and two 
or three others of our company, he had no repugnance 
for work, even when the labors to be performed were* 
out of the line of his prescribed duties. 



48 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE 



CHAPTER V. 

WE LEAVE UPERNAVICK AND BID ADIEU TO THE HABIT- 
ABLE WORLD — THE DEVIL'S NIP — ICEBERGS — THEIR 
MAGNIFICENCE AND SUBLIMITY — ROCKS IMBEDDED IN 
THEIR SIDES — THIS PHENOMENON ACCOUNTED FOR — 
THE author's MOONLIGHT MUSINGS — A STRANGE 
FANCY — OUR BRIG IN DANGER — MIRACULOUS ESCAPE 
— TOWED BY AN ICEBERG — ARRIVAL AT HAKLUYT 
ISLAND — DR. KANE AND THE AUTHOR CATCH A COLD 
DUCK. 

Our departure from Upernavick was almost equiva- 
lent to a withdrawal from the inhabitable world ; for, 
beyond that point, all traces of civilization disappear 
and the dominions of the Ice-King are fairly entered. 
Sixty miles beyond Upernavick, we reach that bug- 
bear of arctic navigators, called Melville Bay, which 
occupies a semi-circular hollow in the coast of Green- 
land, extending from Cape York southwardly to the 
74th parallel of north latitude, fifty miles beyond a 
point called the Devil's Thumb. This Bay is also 
called the Devil's Nip — as significative of its dangerous 
character. A great part of Melville Bay, namely, that 
portion which lies nearest to the land, is constantly 
frozen over, presenting a solid platform of ice from 
thirty to forty miles in breadth, and more than a hun- 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 49 

dred miles in length. From the outer or off-shore 
edge of this platform, huge masses or floes are broken 
by the action of the waves, and these floes, obeying the 
impulse of the winds and tides, are sometimes driven 
out seaward and sometimes floated in toward the land- 
ice, with which it comes in violent contact, producing a 
crash like '' the crack of doom." When the floes set 
off from the land-ice, an open space is left for the pas- 
sage of ships, if they choose to avail themselves of this 
precious but perilous opportunity. When a ship enters 
this dangerous passage, it must always be with the un- 
derstanding that a change of wind may bring the floe and 
land-ice together with a force sufficient to crush any 
oaken fabric to atoms. Instead of hugging the ice- 
bound shore of the bay, according to the usual practice 
of mariners who make this voyage, the Advance stood 
out to sea, taking a north-westerly course for Cape 
York, without entering Melville Bay at all. By this 
expedient we avoided the danger of being caught be- 
tween the masses of ice with which the bay is always 
covered, but we incurred other dangers almost or quite 
as great, for we encountered many bergs and other 
large bodies of ice, put into rapid motion by the currents 
proceeding from Lancaster and Smith's Sounds. We 
had the ill-luck, likewise, to be encompassed by a dense 
fog, which greatly increased the danger of collision 
with the icebergs that bore down upon us from seve- 
ral directions. 

The appearance of icebergs has been often described ; 
at least, attempts have often been made to describe 
5 



50 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE 

them ; but the truth is, they are indescribable. They 
are certainly the most magnificent and stupendous ob- 
jects in Nature. Even when stationary, they are un- 
rivalled in grandeur and splendor of appearance by 
any other terrestrial object, but their motions cannot 
fail to impress the spectator with astonishment and 
awe. The element of terror is not wanting to make 
them sublime ; for when they present themselves to the 
mariner, they are always suggestive of trouble and 
danger. I have seen some icebergs which appeared to 
ascend to the height of from two hundred to five hun- 
dred feet above the level of the water. Their appear- 
ance is often white, so that they resemble clouds at a 
distance. At other times they appear like mountains 
of glass, with many dark objects, rocks or boulders, 
masses of earth, &c., imbedded in their sides. The 
presence of huge rocks in floating icebergs is a phe- 
nomenon which requires some explanation. The polar 
icebergs are produced by glaciers or streams of ice, 
which have a very slow but constantly progressive mo- 
tion from the interior of Greenland to the sea. These 
ice-streams probably do not move, on an average, more 
than one fathom in a week ; however, they have suffi- 
cient force to take up and carry along large masses of 
rock which may happen to lie in their course. When 
the ice-current reaches the sea, a deposit is formed near 
the coast, the ice being heaped up in masses, which are 
constantly increased or enlarged by accessions of new 
ice from the glaciers ; and this icy-river, with the rocks 
it has taken up in its passage, still augments the heap, 



GRINNELL EXPLOKJCNG EXPEDITION. 51 

until a mountain of ice is formed, and this mountain, 
being detached from the shore by the winds or waves, 
becomes a moving iceberg, the rocks and other foreign 
substances which it acquired in the process of its form- 
ation, being still a part of its component material. 

Sometimes, when I have been keeping watch on deck, 
and when an iceberg, glittering in the cold arctic 
moonlight, has swept past our vessel, I have imagined 
strange but not impossible things. I have supposed, 
for example, that the body of the lost navigator might 
be enclosed in that crystal mass — enshrined in a mov- 
able sepulchre of ice — and that, by some conceivable 
chance, the frozen corpse of the missing Captain might 
be thus conveyed to some region inhabited by civilized 
people, his own countrymen perhaps, or others who 
have been deeply interested in his fate. However un- 
likely such a thing might be to happen, it is not beyond 
the scope of possibility. If the arctic voyagers had 
forsaken their ships and betaken themselves to land 
travel, they might have sunk exhausted on the surface 
of a glacier ; in that case, their bodies would have been 
carried onward by the gelid current, and finally incor- 
porated with an iceberg. And, as large rocks are 
often transported in icebergs to far distant shores, the 
body of a man might change its locality by means of 
the same kind of conveyance. But this may appear to 
the reader to be a very idle speculation; much like 
Hamlet's attempt to show how the mortal remains of 
Julius Caesar^iglit be used to stop the bung of a beer- 
barrel. 



5^ GODFREYS NARRATIVE OF THE 

On the 29th day of July, we found ourselves sur- 
rounded by drifting ice, which threatened to close in 
on us — an event which would probably have wrecked 
the brig and endangered the lives of all on board. On 
each side of us was a floe of vast extent and several 
feet in height above the water-line ; and we saw, with 
no little dread, that these floes were approaching each 
other, so that the lane of water in which the brig was 
sailing became narrower every moment. It was easy 
to foresee what would be the catastrophe if we did not 
escape from the contracting passage before the two 
floes came in actual contact. At this critical juncture, 
an iceberg, impelled by the current from Lancaster 
Sound, came drifting past us with a degree of speed 
which our vessel could not attain. We concluded to 
employ this berg as a tow-horse, and one of my com- 
panions and myself were sent out in a boat with a tow- 
line and ice-anchor to make fast. The ice-anchor used 
by us was similar in form to a pot-hook, or the letter S ; 
the line was attached to one extremity, and the other 
was inserted in a hole which we were obliged to cut in 
the ice with a mallet and chisel. I found it rather a 
^'ticklish'' operation to cut a mortice in a moving ice- 
berg ; for, in the performance of this task, I was com- 
pelled to stand in the boat, which my comrade sculled 
and held as steadily as possible against the side of the 
berg. With much labor, we succeeded at last in get- 
ting our anchor firmly planted ; and, before the line was 
drawn taut, we got on board of the brig, which soon 
begun to bound forward like a wild horse, the iceberg 



# 
GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 55 

dragging her along much better than a steam " tug" 
could have done it. In order to get ahead as fast as 
possible, as no time was to be lost, we drew in the tow- 
line and thus brought the brig under a projection of the 
berg, which was somewhat higher than our main-mast. 
We had scarcely placed ourselves in this position, when 
a curious crepitation above our heads was heard ; and, 
at the same time, a sort of shower of hail began to fall 
on deck. Lumps of ice as big as hen's eggs came rat- 
tling down ; and one of our fellows, while inconsiderately 
looking up to see where they came from, was knocked 
flat on his back by one of the ice-lumps, which struck 
him between the eyes. We now began to guess what 
was about to happen, and immediately commenced pay- 
ing out the tow-line as fast as possible, thus allowing 
the iceberg to shoot ahead of the brig ; and we did not 
escape from our dangerous neighbor too soon, for we 
had scarcely fallen back to the distance of thirty 
fathoms, when a mass of ice, weighing probably fifty 
tons or more, fell from the overhanging summit of the 
berg, with a thundering report, caused by the sudden 
fracture of so large a body. The huge fragment drop- 
ped into the sea at the very spot which the brig would 
have occupied, had we not cast off in time to avoid the 
impending danger. With considerable exertion, we ex- 
tricated the brig from her perilous position among the 
floating ice ; and, after the alarming adventure related 
above, we met with little obstruction until we doubled 
Cape Dudley Digges, in lat. 76°. We were now in a 
part of BaflSn's Bay called by the whalers North Water. 



56 GODFREY S NARRATIVE OF THE 

Here the ice seldom collects in any considerable quan- 
tity, and we were enabled to proceed on our voyage for 
several days without any impediment, passing Capes 
Athol, Abernethy, and Parry, and the islands of Dai- 
ry mple and Carys. 

On the 6th of August, we reached Hakluyt Island, 
lat. 77° 22^ This is the most westerly island of a 
group, lying in an indentation of the shore, between 
Capes Parry and Robertson. Hakluyt Island is dis- 
tinguished by a tall rocky peak, which rises to the 
height of about five hundred and eighty feet above the 
level of the water. In the neighborhood of this island, 
we shot two white bears on the ice. As we had not 
tasted any fresh meat for several weeks, the flesh of 
these animals was an acceptable article of food, though 
the flavor is rather stronger than delicate stomachs 
might tolerate. The liver of the polar bear is said to 
be poisonous ; and we had some evidence of the fact, 
for several of our men who partook of it were extremely 
ill afterward. 

At Hakluyt Island Dr. Kane and I went ashore in 
a boat. The place was frightfully desolate, but having 
made our boat fast to the shore, we walked a little way 
into the interior, to make observations. The island 
seemed to be a compound mass of rock and ice, and we 
soon became tired of a scene which presented so little 
variety. On our return to the boat, we found that the 
brig had set sail to avoid some drifting ice which threat- 
ened to surround her, and I was obliged to row the boat 
six miles before we overtook the Advance ; and then, 



GRINNELIi EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 5Y 

•while endeavoring to get on board, we had our boat 
" stove/' or crushed, between a large cake of ice and 
the side of the brig. The Doctor and I were both 
pretty well '' ducked/' being plunged head and ears in 
water which must have been near the temperature of 
melting ice. As I had been rowing hard for six miles, 
I was in a profuse perspiration when, by the smashing 
of the boat, I was plunged into the icy water; yet, 
strange to say, I did not take cold, nor did any of my 
subsequent exposure affect my health in the slightest 
degree. I never had a touch of catarrh or rheumatism 
while I was in the Arctic regions ; but since I returned 
to a temperate climate, I have seldom been quite free 
from one or the other of these diseases. These are 
facts which the medical men may find it somewhat diffi- 
cult to explain. 



58 GODFREY^S NARRATIVE OF THE 



CHAPTER VI. 



MR. WILLIAM MORTON'S FAMOUS DISCOVERY — THE AU- 
THOR'S MISGIVINGS ON THE SUBJECT — VISIONARY MIS- 
TAKES AND HALLUCINATIONS OF ARCTIC TRAVELERS 
—BLOOD-STAINED SNOW — NO ACCOUNTING FOR THE 
PHENOMENON — WE ENTER SMITH'S SOUND AND MEET 
WITH GREAT OBSTACLES — THE AUTHOR'S PECULIAR 
HARDSHIPS — HIS UNPOPULARITY AMONG THE OFFICERS 
— HINTS FOR AMERICAN SEAMEN. 



Smith's Sound, or Smith's Strait^ (as Dr. Kane is 
pleased to call it), extends almost due northward from 
the Capes Alexander and Isabella to the " open polar 
sea," discovered by Mr. Morton, steward of the Advance^ 
in whose statement Dr. Kane appears to place unlimited 
confidence. However, as much depends on the correct- 
ness of Mr. Morton's statement, I will take the liberty 
to remark that he may have possibly been mistaken. 
The Arctic regions are a kind of "Dreamland," in 
which people are apt to imagine that they see more than 
is to be seen. We have an example of the kind in the 
famous discovery of the " Croker Mountains," by Cap- 
tain Ross. These mountains, supposed to be situated 
near the entrance of Lancaster Sound, never had any 
existence except in the imagination of the Captain just 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 59 

named. And yet very few people suppose that Captain 
Ross intended to deceive. One effect of the extreme 
cold in the polar regions is to make some persons de- 
lirious; and, under the influence of their temporary 
phrenzy, such persons may persuade themselves that 
they see objects which have no real existence. I could 
give the reader many striking exemplifications of this 
curious fact ; but one instance, in particular, occurs to 
my remembrance. Once when Dr. Kane and I were 
traveling together in the interior of Greenland, the 
cold was so excessive that the Doctor partially lost his 
senses. At this time he fancied that we were pursued 
by a bear; and so strong was the impression on his 
mind, that he often referred to the circumstance after- 
ward, seeming to have no doubt that it was a veritable 
fact. Now, to my certain knowledge, no bear was seen 
while we were on that journey, and the one which the 
Doctor thought he saw must have been an ideal creation. 
Various circumstances incline me to suspect that Mr. 
Morton labored under a similar hallucination when he 
thought that he saw an open polar sea at the northern 
extremity of Smith's Sound. If such a sea exists, it is 
a settled fact that Greenland is an island, and not a 
peninsula or a part of an arctic continent. I do not 
think that the statement of one man should settle a 
question of so much importance to geographical science ; 
and, while I acquit Mr. Morton of any intention to 
mislead the public mind on this subject, I feel justified 
in warning future navigators not to place too much re- 
liance on his supposed discovery. 



60 GODFREY^S NARRATIVE OF THE 

We reached Cape Alexander, at the entrance of 
Smith's Sound, on the 6th of August. At this cape, 
as well as on many other parts of the Greenland coast, 
there is a rocky embankment several hundred feet in 
height. The shelving rocks on the coast are usually 
covered with snow; but the precipices are bare, and 
present a hideously frowning and gloomy appearance* 
At some points, the snow on the lofty embankment is 
almost as red as blood, especially at a place called 
" Crimson Cliffs," near Cape Dudley Digges. I have 
heard that snow often assumes this appearance in cer- 
tain situations. Captain Ross observed the same phe- 
nomenon at various points on the shore of Melville Bay. 
Saursure witnessed a similar appearance of the snow 
on some parts of the Alps, and Martin observed the 
same thing at Spitzbergen. It seems, then, that the 
cause of the appearance, whatever it may be, is not 
confined to any particular locality. Curiosity induced 
me to examine the snow at " Crimson Cliffs,'' and, with 
the Captain's permission, I took a boat and went ashore 
for that purpose. The snow on these cliffs appeared 
to be stained by some foreign substance, and I expected 
to find the discoloration only on the surface ; but, to 
my great surprise, the same crimson hue was observable 
when I had dug through the snow to the depth of ten 
feet. At the same time, I satisfied myself that the 
coloring process did not begin at the bottom, for, in all 
cases, the lower stratum of snow, or that portion which 
was in immediate contact with the rock, was white. 
But for this circumstance, I might have suspected that 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 61 

the unusual color of the snow is caused by some pecu- 
liarity of the rock on which it rests. I am sorry that 
I am unable to offer the reader any satisfactory expla- 
nation of this curious matter ; and I do not know that 
it has ever been explained in a manner to satisfy any 
rational inquirer. 

If Smith's Sound had been navigable, it would have 
offered us a passage in the direction we wished to travel, 
nearly to the northern parts of Greenland. But we 
soon ascertained that sailing up this Sound was an ex- 
tremely difficult undertaking ; for this piece of water is 
incumbered with ice at all seasons ; and, for much the 
greater part of the year, sailing is entirely out of the 
question. From the time we passed Cape Alexander, 
at the entrance of the Sound, the brig, for all purposes 
of progression, might as well have been a scow or a 
raft, or any other nautical contrivance without masts 
or sails. These appendages were now entirely useless, 
for there was not sea-room enough to make them 
serviceable. The only open track through which the 
brig could pass, was a narrow ''lead," or lane of 
water, near the shore, where the ice had been partially 
broken up by the waves. Our only mode of progres- 
sion was by "trailing" or "warping;'' a toilsome pro- 
cess, which consists in affixing a line or hawser to some 
object ahead, and dragging the vessel along by winding 
up the rope on the capstan. In this way, whole days 
were consumed in advancing a few miles, the men being 
exhausted by severe labor and discouraged by their 
tardy progress. I believe Captain Kane himself 
6 



62 Godfrey's narrative of the 

acknowledges that a full share of these laborious opera- 
tions devolved on me. In bodily strength and activity 
I was superior to my comrades ; and, owing to some 
peculiarity of constitution, I was but little affected by 
the cold, although I wore less clothing than any other 
man in the brig. I was generally selected, therefore, 
for the performance of those tasks which involved most 
toil and hardship ; and, by degrees, I became a fac 
totum; assistant-cook, journeyman carpenter, dog- 
trainer-general, sledge-driver, seal-skin breeches and 
boot-maker, bear and fox hunter; in short, Caleb 
Quotem himself had not a greater variety of occupa- 
tions. But, although I was acknowledged to be a useful 
member of our arctic commuuity, I never had the good 
fortune to become a favorite with our oflScers. Doubt- 
less my unpopularity among the aristocracy of the brig 
was, in some measure, the effect of a certain inflexibility 
of disposition, for which Yankees, in all situations, are 
more or less remarkable. The discipline of the Navy 
requires the common seamen to be humble and submis- 
sive to their superiors, viz., the oflScers ; and the latter 
often exact as much homage from the sailors as a king 
could expect to receive from his subjects. My early 
training, my feelings of independence and sense of 
equality, did not qualify me for the station in which 
I had thoughtlessly placed myself; and hence, without 
intending to offend the oflScers, I often excited their 
indignation and resentment. I felt little respect or 
affection for some official personages on board of the 
Advance^ and what I did not feel, I did nofe choose to 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 63 

affect. However, I did my duty faithfully, and treated 
the oflScers with as much deference as I supposed the 
exigencies of the service to require. In this connec- 
tion, I feel constrained to say that the naval service 
of the United States, as well as that of Great Britain, 
must be grievously oppressive to any seaman or sub- 
ordinate oflScer who has that nice sense of honor, and 
that innate feeling of justice, which impel a man to 
resist tyranny and wrong. The spirit of freedom and 
independence is sadly out of place on the fore-deck, as 
the American navy is now constituted ; and I do not 
wonder that our national ships are manned chiefly by 
foreigners, as few natives of the American soil are base 
and slavish enough to submit to the hard and humiliat- 
ing requirements of our sea-service, unless they are 
privileged to walk the quarter-deck. 



64 Godfrey's narrative of the 



CHAPTER YII. 

WE VISIT A DESOLATE ISLAND — MELANCHOLY SIGNS OF 
FORMER INHABITANTS — WE ARE FROZEN UP — EXTRI- 
CATE OURSELVES BY HARD LABOR — ANCHOR UNDER GOD- 
SEND LEDGE — TERRIFIC STORM — DESPERATE SITUA- 
TION OF THE ADVANCE — A BOLD EXPEDIENT — WE ARE 
AGAIN TOWED BY AN ICEBERG — OUR MIRACULOUS DE- 
LIVERANCE — PROBABLE FATE OF SIR JOHN FRANKLIN. 

A SMALL patcli of ground, or rock, (to speak more 
properly), called Littleton Island, lies near the entrance 
of Smith's Sound. August 6, we landed on this island, 
which is destitute of all vegetation except a certain 
kind of moss which grows on the rocks. Scarcely any 
thing was visible except masses of rocks and lumps of 
ice ; but, after walking a little way from the shore, 
we were surprised to find the ruins of Exquimaux huts. 
It is hard to imagine how any human beings could live 
in such a frightful place ; and there was reason to 
think that the former inhabitants of this desolate isle 
had perished either with hunger or cold. Skeletons 
were found lying on the ground, near the remains of 
the wretched dwellings. We thought it possible that one 
hundred and fifty or two hundred years had elapsed 
since the place was inhabited, as many of the bones 
had almost crumbled to dust. 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION 65 

We erected a cairn on this island and deposited 
some provisions and other articles, which we thought 
might be useful on our return. On the Sth, we an- 
chored in a small cove, to which our Commander gave 
the name of Refuge Harbor ; where we were soon 
locked up by the ice. By cutting and sawing at the 
floes we succeeded, with immense labor, in opening a 
track, through which the brig was warped along the 
shore for several miles, until we reached an isolated 
rock, to which Dr. Kane gave the title of Godsend 
Ledge. I suppose he intended this name as a grateful 
acknowledgment of the protection which the rock 
afforded us from the drifting ice. Under the lee of 
this rock we remained in security until the 20th of 
August ; when the gale, which had been rather "stilBf" 
for several days, became a storm of extraordinary 
violence. Our situation now, with a rock on one side, 
and a raging sea, incumbered with huge fragments of 
ice, on the other, began to look very threatening. The 
chief danger was from the ice-billows, or large cakes 
and lumps of -ice which were tossed about by the surg- 
ing waves with such force as to make it appear that 
no vessel could live among them. Our position under 
the lee of the rock was comparatively safe ; but how 
was that position to be maintained? The brig had 
three several moorings : a chain-cable, a whale line and 
a ten-inch Manilla hawser. The latter was our chief 
dependence. The force of the rushing tide and that of 
the hurricane combined, put our fastenings to a severe 
test. The chain-cable was the first to give way ; it 
6^ 



66 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE 

parted with a sharp ear-torturing snap ; the brig fell 
back and hauled the whale line taut ; this rope stretched 
and chafed for a few minutes and then gave way with 
a sonorous twang. The Manilla cable now appeared to 
be " the thread of our destiny/' and a pretty stout 
one it was — but no string spun by mortal man could 
have withstood that racket. The reader may judge 
what forces we had to contend with, when he under- 
stands that they were suflScient to break a rope made 
in the best style, and of the best material, and as thick 
as a man's body. When that rope gave way, some of 
us thought of saying our last prayer ; but one or two, 
on " sober second thought,'' concluded to d — n our ill- 
luck ; and, in these orisons, all of those who had any 
hand in getting up the Expedition were remembered. 
After awhile, however, it seemed that there were some 
on board who were not fated to be drowned ; for 
although the brig was now at liberty to be smashed and 
go the bottom, if she thought proper, she preferred to 
keep afloat, and really she behaved wonderfully well 
when she was whirled out among the wildly pitching and 
plunging masses of ice, many of which were twice as 
large as the brig herself; and the way in which they 
knocked each other to pieces, showed what they would be 
certain to do if they came in collision with our vessel. 
I succeeded in reconciling myself to what seemed to 
be my certain doom ; for I considered the destruction 
of the brig and the loss of all on board as inevitable. 
At that moment of dreadful expectation, it aiforded me 
some comfort to reflect that few of our company were 



GRINNELL EXPLORINa EXPEDITION. 6T 

married men, and that, consequently, there would be 
but few disconsolate widows made by our misadventure. 
I sincerely hoped that no future Expedition would be 
sent out to search for us ; for I had no desire that other 
lives should be sacrificed " to grace our fall and make 
our ruin glorious." 

Most fortunately for us, the brig was driven by the 
wind and waves shoreward, where an open lane of 
water between the land-ice and the "pack,'' gave us an 
opportunity to warp our vessel along and keep her 
away from the driving current. Northward, where the 
Sound becomes narrower, we could see the floating ice 
driven as it were, to a focus, by the tide ; there the large 
cakes of ice ground and dashed against each other, in 
a manner frightful to behold; and if the Advance 
should be forced into that chaotic whirlpool of ice and 
water, it appeared certain that she must be pulverized 
like a grain of corn in a grist-mill. In that case, not 
an individual on board could have possibly escaped to 
tell the s^ory, and our fate would have been as myste- 
rious as that of Sir John Franklin. 

The brig being now -adrift, and the probability being 
that she would " bring up " in some position from which 
she could not be extricated, all haads made preparation 
to leave her, at short notice. Every man put up his 
"kit,'' and made himself ready for a journey over the 
ice, as this appeared to be the only means of escape. 
In the meanwhile, we tried to make the best of existing 
circumstances. The gale was still very violent, and 
we were obliged to scud before it with a reefed top-sail; 



68 GODFREY'S NARRATIYB OF THE 

as any attempt to withstand the forces which were 
operating on us, would merely have made matters worse. 
We passed a fearful night, in constant expectation of 
having our vessel dashed to pieces, and in the morning 
we found ourselves on the very edge of that dangerous 
whirlpool of ice and water, to which reference has pre- 
viously been made. At this point, the Sound makes a 
bend to the north-eastward, and the reaction of the 
current against a projection of land, called Cape Sabine, 
produced a violent commotion of the waves and 
their superincumbent masses of ice. To keep the brig 
out of this frightful vortex, we put out our heaviest 
anchor ; but this experiment succeeded so badly, that 
we soon had reason to wish it had not been tried. As 
soon as the course of the brig was arrested by the 
anchor, the pressure of the ice, which Y,as sent against 
our devoted vessel by the resistless force of the current, 
made a complete wreck of the sternpost and rudder, 
and the work of destruction would soon have extended 
to other parts of the brig, had we not immediately cast 
loose the chain-cable, and permitted the vessel to drive 
ahead, by leaving her anchor at the bottom of the 
Sound. Once more at the mercy of the wind and tide, 
the brig dashed on among the ice-breakers, rasping 
her side against a floe forty feet thick, and soon knock- 
ing her starboard bow against a lump of ice as big as a 
church. By this accident some of our forward wood- 
work was smashed to small pieces, and about a dozen 
cart-loads of ice were deposited on our deck. Just 
ahead of us, now appeared half a dozen icebergs, of 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 69 

Tarlous shapes and sizes, among which the current 
vrould soon carry us, and a collision with which appeared 
to be unavoidable. Several of these bergs wore a very 
threatening aspect, as their tops projected far over the 
water, and produced the impression that they must soon 
turn over or break off at the summit. These tricks are 
very common with icebergs, and we had already made 
several narrow escapes from the effects thereof. The 
reader may form some idea of the danger which 
mariners might incur from the sudden whirling over of 
an iceberg more than two hundred feet high. The 
peril is scarcely less when a large fragment is sepa- 
rated from the top of a berg and falls into the sea. 
Our brig has often passed under projections of icebergs 
which extended a hundred feet beyond the base line, 
at an elevation far above our mast-heads ; and in some 
cases it is necessary to go under these dangerous pent- 
houses, when the "lead," or lane of open water hap- 
pens to pass close to the berg. 

On the occasion I am now speaking of, we adopted 
an expedient which had been successful once before : 
steering our course directly for an iceberg, and send- 
ing out a boat to fasten an ice- anchor in the side of the 
floating mountain. The berg, having thus been made 
to take us in tow, pulled us along briskly, and besides 
kept an open track for us, by pushing aside the smaller 
masses of ice which obstructed our path. Neverthe- 
less we were obliged to keep close in the rear of the 
berg which was dragging us, because the track which 
it opened was soon closed again, by the drifting ice 



70 Godfrey's narrative of the 

from each side. Other bergs likewise pressed in upon 
us so closely, that one of our boats would have been 
stove, had we not removed it from the davits. At one 
time we were between two bergs, whose perpendicular 
walls were higher than our masts, and they were ap- 
proaching each other so rapidly, that we deemed it 
almost impossible to escape before they should come 
together. In fact, the stern of the Advance was 
scarcely clear of them, when they came in contact with 
a frightful crash, breaking and grinding off huge frag- 
ments, and half demolishing each other by the force of 
the encounter. 

Nothing but the daring expedient of attaching our 
brig to an iceberg, could have saved us from total 
destruction. Supposing that the Advance had been 
crushed between those two icebergs, which came in 
such formidable collision with each other, is it not pro- 
bable that, like " the cloud-capt towers, the gorgeous 
palaces," &c., we would have left "not a wreck be- 
hind?" Every spar, plank, and piece of timber, and 
every man on board would have been overwhelmed in 
the icy ruins; and every vestige of the brig and its 
inhabitants would, in all likelihood, have been hidden 
forever under the frozen surface of Smith's Sound. 
The broken ice which swallowed us up would soon have 
become reconsolidated, and humane adventurers 
coming in search of us, might have passed over our 
mortal remains, without suspecting that we were em- 
tombed in an icy sepulchre below. And is it very un- 
likely that Captain Franklin and his company may have 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. Yl 

met with a similar accident, and that they are now 
awaiting the call of the last trumpet in a crystal mau- 
Boleum, the locality of which will never be known to 
mortal man ? 

The storm which we experienced in Smith's Sound 
was sufficient to have annihilated forty ships ; and our 
escape was a mere fortuitous event, or a providential 
deliverance, which would not be likely to occur again 
in the same circumstances ; for chance or Providence 
seldom favors those who expose themselves to unneces- 
sary hazards for unattainable objects. 



72 Godfrey's narrative of the 



CHAPTER VIII 

ABATEMENT OF THE STORM — REPAIRING DAMAGES — DR. 
KANE AND SEVERAL OTHER PERSONS GET ADRIFT — 
THE AUTHOR GOES TO THER ASSISTANCE — A GOLDEN 
OPPORTUNITY LOST — THE COMMANDER'S PROJECTS — 
A CONSULTATION OP THE WHOLE BRIG'S COMPA- 
NY — THE AUTHOR MAKES A SPEECH WHICH ASTON- 
ISHES AND DISPLEASES THE OFFICERS — HE IS SUS- 
PECTED OF A MUTINOUS DISPOSITION. 

During the terrific scene which I have attempted to 
describe in the last chapter, several of our crew were 
exposed to still greater dangers than those which 
threatened the whole of the brig's company. When- 
ever the vessel came in collision with the land-ice, some 
of US were sent out with lines and ice-anchors, with the 
hope of making the brig fast. In the performance of 
this duty, we were obliged to get out on the icy plat- 
form, and sometimes on movable cakes or lumps of ice, 
which heaved and tossed with the motion of the sea, 
making it almost impossible for us to maintain our foot- 
ing ; and a slip, in such circumstances, might have been 
fatal. Bonsall slipped between two fragments and nar- 
rowly escaped a " nip.'* Myself and three others got 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. ^3 

adrift on an ice-cake, and were compelled to weather 
the storm in this singular barque, as all our efforts to 
get on board of the brig were fruitless. 

As a finale to this storm-scene, I may mention that 
the Advance was driven, peak foremost, on an inclined 
plane of ice, which formed the side of a stationary berg. 
Here, with the rising and falling of the waves, she 
alternately ascended the plane, falling on her beam-ends, 
and slipped back again to the water, assuming her 
right position. All this time masses of ice were thrown 
against her side, by the force of the waves, with a con- 
cussion which made her timbers creak, and convinced 
every man on board that she could not stand this racket 
for half an hour. But our anti-drowning destiny pre- 
vailed ; the wind gradually subsided, and the violence 
of the waves perceptibly abated. While the brig was 
performing her maneuvers on the sloping side of the 
berg, I and my three companions who had been adrift 
on an ice-cake, were carried by the current to another 
part of the same inclined plane ; which, with much hard 
scrambling, we ascended, and embracing the opportu- 
nity when the brig was thrown on her side, we con- 
trived to get aboard. 

After the agitation of the waters had ceased and we 
had taken some rest and refreshment, efforts were 
made to place the brig in a safer situation. The car- 
penter made some necessary repairs, as the hull of the 
vessel had been considerably damaged in her late strug- 
gle. We then recommenced the labor of warping, and 
thus managed to proceed northward, along the edge of 
7 



74 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE 

the land-ice, five or six miles. Dr. Kane, Mr. Brooks, 
and two of the seamen, in the mean time, took a boat 
and went out to make explorations, leaving the brig 
under the command of Mr. Ohlsen, the carpenter. 
They were obliged to leave their boat, which became 
entangled among some floating ice; and the captain and 
his companions came back on a floe which the wind was 
driving away from the land-ice, to which the brig at 
this time was moored. I took a boat, and rowed hard 
after the floe, which seemed disposed to abduct our 
commander and the gentlemen who w^ere with him. 
The ice- cake, impelled by the tide, bore them away so 
rapidly that I almost despaired of being able to over- 
take them ; but, by dint of great exertion, I succeeded 
in sculling the boat up against the floe and holding 
it there until they all got on board. Had this floe 
taken the Doctor off", I think it likely that he would 
have reached " the open polar sea'' discovered by Mr. 
Morton, or some other distant locality, from which it 
would have been no easy matter to return. 

Before Dr. Kane left the brig, he had given orders 
to have every thing ready for sailing, and it was gen- 
erally supposed on board that he intended to move 
homeward ; as he must have been satisfied by this time 
that it was utterly impossible to ascend Smith's Sound 
much further in such a vessel as the Advance. Such a 
ffeat could be accomplished only by a steam propeller, 
built or fitted up expressly for the purpose. Had we 
sailed immediately, the Advance might have been 
brought out of the Sound, for strong south-eastern 



Pij. ;^ i|)| . 




GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. IT 

Winds had opened the ice sufficiently for the purpose. 
But Dr. Kane, at this time, appears to have turned his 
attention to land travel ; and with this object in view, 
he concluded to place the brig in some convenient har- 
bor, which might serve as a starting point for the sledge 
parties which he intended to send out further to the North. 
Petersen, the Danish interpreter, and Wilson were sent 
out to look for some eligible locality in which the brig 
might pass the winter. At the expiration of eight-and- 
forty hours they returned without having discovered 
any quarters which might answer our purpose. They 
reported that they had seen tracks of bears and rein- 
deer, and they had found a skull, which appeared to 
have belonged to a musk-ox ; but while on this excur- 
sion they had met with no living animals except a few 
seals. 

We now held a grand consultation, in which all hands 
on board (common sailors not excepted), were invited 
to take a part ; the object being to decide what course 
it was most expedient for us to pursue. Some of our 
fellows were more or less home-sick, and I dare say they 
would have given their vote for an immediate return to 
the United States, p-romising themselves more comfort 
in the arms of their wives and doxies than in the chill- 
ing embraces of the polar seas. But our more expe- 
rienced seamen had sense enough to know that they 
were expected to coincide in opinion with the officers ; 
they were therefore very backward about expressing 
any views until they should learn what might be the 
prevailing sentiment on the quarter-deck. I, being but 
7* 



78 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE 

a "green-horn," comparatively speaking, was not con- 
versant with the usages and etiquette of the naval ser- 
vice in such cases as that which now claimed our atten- 
tion ; and, when requested to declare what appeared to 
me to be the proper line of conduct for men in our 
situation to pursue, I frankly stated that I could see 
no use in proceeding any further on the voyage. 

"As for Captain Franklin,'' said I, "no doubt he is 
safe in heaven, if he was as brave a commander and as 
good a man as the books and newspapers represent him ; 
and if we desire to follow him to that celestial harbor, we 
can do so by a safer and more agreeable route than 
through the polar seas. Should we succeed in finding 
his dead body, something would be gained, I confess ; 
for public curiosity might then be satisfied, and no pre- 
tense would be left for future adventurers to undertake 
this dangerous voyage on the score of humanity. But 
even these good efi'ects, such as they are, would not 
follow our discovery, unless we could return and com- 
municate that discovery to the world. Should we suc- 
ceed in reaching that point where this veteran arctic 
navigator and his hardy companions could not live, is 
it not likely that we should perish as they did ? The 
same circumstances which were fatal to them might be 
equally so to us. And if we should share the fate of 
our unfortunate predecessors, of what avail would our 
discoveries be to the world, even if we should ascertain 
how, when, and where Captain Franklin and his com- 
pany perished ? 

" As for any other motives for continuing our ex- 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 79 

plorations in these regions, I know of none which can 
be expected to have much influence on the subordinate 
members of this expedition. Granting that it would 
be a glorious achievement to plant the American flag 
on the pivot of the earth's axis, we who handle the 
ropes would seldom be mentioned in connection with 
that achievement, wherefore the expectation of fame or 
glory cannot be a very great inducement with us. Be- 
sides, I can scarcely think it possible that any man on 
this deck, after all the experience we have had, believes 
that there is any chance of reaching the North Pole by 
this route, and with such means of travel as we possess. 
I do not know what other discoveries of importance 
may be contemplated ; but, until I am better instructed, 
I entertain the notion that the wisest course would be 
to turn the head of the Advarice southward, and either 
to steer homeward, or to take another route by the way 
of Lancaster Sound, where we may possibly be able to 
make some progress ; whereas, on the present track, 
there is no likelihood that the brig will ever be con- 
ducted fifty miles further to the North.'' 

I had been invited to express my opinion, and I did 
so with a degree of freedom which seemed to give some 
offense to the officers. However, I received only a 
little browbeating to correct my presumption, and then 
the consultation proceeded, with all due formality, until 
it was finally resolved that we should continue to warp 
the brig northward until we should find a convenient 
winter harbor. 

I had reason to suspect afterward, that my incon- 



4 



80 Godfrey's narrative of the 

siderate speech at this consultation was regarded by 
some of the officers as a sly demonstration of mutiny ; 
and Captain Kane himself seems to have listened to 
some such suggestions, as he afterward gave me credit, 
on several occasions, for more self-will than was be- 
coming in " a man before the mast." The Captain 
misconstrued me somewhat ; but I do confess that I was 
not prepared, at all points, to fill a station in which 
humility and submissiveness were the most desirable 
and indispensable qualifications. 



( 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 81 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE ADVANCE PROCEEDS FURTHER NORTHWARD — HARD 
WORK FOR THE SAILORS — THE AUTHOR AND SEVERAL 
OTHERS OF THE CREW START ON A SLEDGE JOURNEY — 
THEY BREAK THROUGH THE ICE— SEVERE SUFFER- 
INGS — HYDROPATHY — SLEEPING IN ICE — TROUBLE- 
SOME COOKING — ASCENT OF AN ICEBERG — A SINGU- 
LAR FOX-HUNT — A PRIZE SECURED GREAT RE- 
JOICINGS — ACCOUNT OF THE BLUE FOX — ITS VALUABLE 
FUR, AC. 

According to the resolutions which had been passed 
at the meeting of officers and crew, on the deck of the 
Advance^ preparations were now made to move north- 
ward. The only way in which the brig could be urged 
along, was by the process called "warping," which I 
have described in a former chapter. When we were 
happy enough to discover a lead, or crevice in the ice, 
the men were sent out with a line and ice-anchor to 
make an attachment, forty or fifty yards ahead ; then, 
by winding up the line around the capstan, the brig 
was dragged along, until she neared the point where 
the anchor was fixed ; another fastening was then made 
further ahead, and so the work proceeded. This 
*' warping'' is one of the most toilsome operations that 



82 Godfrey's narrative of the 

can be imagined, and so slow withal, that it produces 
an impression on the minds of the men that they are 
working to little or no purpose ; and this is very 
discouraging. The height of the ice above the level 
of the water was from seven to fifteen feet; the lead 
or lane of open water was often so narrow that the 
brig could scarcely squeeze through ; and sometimes 
the floating ice-cakes would press on us so as to lift the 
vessel completely out of the water ; then, as the floes 
would fall back again, the brig would sink down again 
to her proper position. The hull of the Advance was 
very much racked and strained, of course, hj such 
rough treatment ; and, as staunch as she was, she could 
scarcely have held together, if she had been subjected 
for any length of time to such severe bufi*eting. In 
less than twenty-four hours after we had missed the 
opportunity which had ofi'ered to us for getting out of 
the Sound, the wind changed, and the floes set in to- 
ward the shore, closing up every avenue of open water, 
and locking us up in that dreary locality, from which 
we had neglected to escape at the right time. 

It now became necessary to cut a passage for the 
brig, in order to enable her to proceed northward in 
search of a harbor. All hands were employed in saw- 
ing and splitting the ice, for the purpose of opening a 
canal. By these means we were enabled to proceed at 
the rate of about three quarters of a mile per day ; a 
degree of speed which, for " progressive Yankees," 
was not at all satisfactory. In this state of things, the 
commander determined to send out a party to make 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 83 

observations and to deposit provisions at different 
points, for the use of such exploring parties as might 
afterward be sent from the brig. The persons selected 
for this duty were McGarry, Bonsall, Biley, Whipple, 
Baker, and myself. We took a sled, not to ride in, 
observe, but as a means of conveyance for our baggage 
and provisions, we ourselves being the draught animals. 
Our provisions consisted of salted meat and ship-bis- 
cuit ; our baggage comprised some wearing apparel and 
sleeping fixtures, such as buffalo skins and blankets. 

The temperature at this time was 30° below zero. 
In order to keep ourselves warm, we traveled at a pretty 
rapid pace, when the route was favorable ; but the ice 
over which we journeyed was, for the most part, very 
rough, having been broken up repeatedly by the tides 
and the collisions of the floes ; the fragments, after- 
ward becoming cemented together by the frost, formed 
^'hummocks,'* or hillocks and ridges, varying in height 
from two to ten feet. The reader will perceive that 
dragging a heavily-laden sledge over such an uneven 
surface was no child's play. In some cases we 
were compelled to unload the sledge before we could 
get it over these obstructions ; after which, it was ne- 
cessary for us to reload. 

In places where the water had recently been open, 
new ice had now begun to form. This new ice, called 
"bay ice'* by arctic sailors, was not yet strong enough 
to bear the weight of our sledge. Of this circumstance 
we were not aware until, while attempting to cross a 
lead which had lately been frozen over, the sledge broke 



84: GODFREY S NARRATIVE OF THE 

through, and all its lading, including our bedding, was 
completely saturated. We now had an opportunity to 
test the merits of the water-cure practice, by sleeping 
in wet blankets ; and, as several of our party had 
touches of the rheumatism, the occasion was particu- 
larly suitable for a trial of the hydropathic experiment. 
At night we found the buffalo-skin bags, which had 
been provided for us to sleep in, so completely froze 
up, that it was impossible to effect an entrance until 
we had beaten the skins with sticks, to break up the 
ice. My rheumatic comrades were apprehensive of 
some very unpleasant consequences from sleeping in 
these frozen sacks ; but they comforted themselves, (as 
Jack tars often do, when in aiBiction,) with hard swear- 
ing. This exercise soon appeared to afford a genial 
warmth to their whole system, and they sunk to rest 
with the tranquillity of infant innocence ; having un- 
burdened their consciences by damning all arctic ex- 
peditions, and all who ever took a part in contriving 
them. 

Our beds were spread on the naked ice, but our own 
vital heat, being confined in the sacks which enclosed 
us, was sufficient to keep us from freezing. Although 
our sleeping bags were generally damp when we first 
got into them, the sensation of cold lasted but a short 
time ; the moisture which surrounded us was converted 
into a sort of steam, which made us comfortable during 
the remainder of the night, although the external air was 
colder, by many degrees, than it ever is in our own 
country. During the excursion I am now speaking of, 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 85 

we passed six nights in the manner I have described, 
with no shelter above us but the sky, and with nothing 
to protect us from the cold but our buffalo-skin sleeping 
bags. We found it most convenient to eat our provi- 
sions raw, for the operation of cooking was tedious and 
troublesome. When we made a fire for culinary pur- 
poses, we burned blubber or "slush;'' the last-named 
article is the grease which has been boiled out of meat, 
and which constitutes a large part of the fuel used for 
cooking purposes by arctic travelers. The Esquimaux 
do their cooking over large lamps filled with the melted 
blubber of the seal or walrus. On the exploring tour 
which I am now speaking of, we were obliged to cook 
in the open air ; and this is no easy matter when the 
temperature is from 40° to 50° below zero, as it was 
all the time we were absent from the brig. Sometimes, 
when we thought our coffee-pot had been over the flame 
long enough to boil, we examined the water and found 
it frozen ! It generally required two or three hours to 
make coffee or to prepare a little broth. 

In accordance with our orders, we made a depot of 
provisions about seventy-five miles from the place where 
we left the brig. To secure the articles deposited from 
the bears, we placed large stones around and over them, 
and afterward poured water on the pile, by which 
means the stones became firmly cemented together, as 
the water poured on them froze immediately. We 
generally traveled on the frozen surface of the Sound, 
but our deposits of provisions were made on points or 
projections of the land. About twenty-five miles from 
'8 



86 Godfrey's n^^rrative of the 

Cape Frederick, where our first cache, or deposit, was 
made, we came to a tongue of land, where we made 
another. From this point we still proceeded north- 
ward, crossing a great glacier, or river of ice, which 
extends far into the interior of Greenland. 

These ice rivers are among the greatest curiosities 
in the world. They have a regular flow, like streams 
of water, though their motion is so slow that they do 
not advance more than eight or ten inches in a day. 
The ice of the glacier is of a mushy consistency ; its 
progressive motion is owing partly to the inclination of 
the ground over which it passes toward the coast, and 
partly to the pressure from behind. These glaciers 
are the parents of the icebergs, as I have mentioned in 
another part of this work. They are instrumental in 
conveying immense quantities of ice from the interior 
of Greenland to the sea ; and, as the stock seems to be 
inexhaustible, it is probable that Greenland itself is 
little else than a mass of ice. It has furnished mate- 
rial for icebergs, perhaps, ever since the world was 
created, and will continue to stock the market with the 
same commodity as long as Nature's laboratory shall 
continue in operation. 

After crossing two glaciers, we proceeded about 
eighty miles further north before we arrived at another 
point of land suitable for making a provision depot. 
Here we stopped for some hours to rest ourselves and 
indulge in the rare luxury of a cooked dinner. While 
our chocolate was coming up to the boiling point, I re- 
quested McGarry, Bonsall, and Riley to accompany 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 8T 

me to the summit of a stationary iceberg in the neigh- 
borhood, which was about one hundred feet in height, 
as I hoped, from that elevation, to see if there was any 
land ahead where another deposit of provisions might 
be made. 

The iceberg which we used as our observatory on 
this occasion, was one of those which, after floating 
about for awhile, run aground at places where the water 
is too shallow to keep them adrift. This sort of acci- 
dent often happens to the bergs, and when they become 
fixed it is most likely that they remain in that predica- 
ment for ages, or forever. Hence many immovable 
mountains of ice are seen on the coast of Greenland, 
and some of them are of magnificent dimensions. To 
a person who is unacquainted with the composition of 
icebergs, it may appear strange that any man should 
be able to climb to the top of one a hundred feet high. 
Those who have experienced the difficulty of walking 
on the level surface of a sleety pavement, might con- 
cider the ascent or descent of a steep ice-hill, as high 
as a church steeple, as almost an impossibility. This 
is not the case, however ; for I have often found it as 
easy to walk up the side of an iceberg, as to ascend a 
grass-covered acclivity. A few words will suffice to 
explain this matter : the reader has been told that ice- 
bergs are produced by accumulations from the glaciers, 
or rivers of ice, which disembogue on the coasts of 
Greenland and other polar regions. The ice of these 
glaciers is mixed with a large proportion of foreign 
matter, such as earth, stones, rocks, &c., and all these, 



88 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE 

of course, become component parts of the icebergs, 
imparting to them a degree of roughness which makes 
it possible to walk on their surfaces with very little 
difficulty. 

When we had reached the summit of the berg to 
which reference has been made above, we were enabled 
to look ahead to the distance of fifty or sixty miles; 
and this view satisfied us that it would be useless to 
proceed further in that direction. There was no pro- 
jection of land within that whole distance ; and the ice, 
over which we would have to travel, was an endless 
succession of hills and hummocks, which for sledge 
traveling made the route altogether impracticable. 
Besides, aS we had exhausted the stock of provisions 
which we had been sent out to deposit at different 
points, the main object of our journey was at an end. 
We might have gone on and discovered "the open polar 
sea,'' which Dr. Kane mentions on the authority of 
Mr. Morton, or we might have discovered that no such 
sea has any objective existence ; but the truth is, we 
were heartily tired of our jaunt, which had been, from 
beginning to end, a freezing purgatory, that was so 
much worse than the fiery one we have heard of, 
because the former was not likely to introduce us to a 
paradise. Had we succeeded in rubbing our noses 
against the north pole, our statement of the fact might 
have been doubted or denied after we came back ; for 
who w^ould be willing to give a party of common sailors 
credit for an achievement which many distinguished cap- 
tains had attempted without any approximation to sue- 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 89 

cess ? But apart from these cogent reasons for turning 
back, it may be mentioned that we had not provi- 
sions enough to justify us in traveling north- 
ward three days longer ; and we had ascertained by 
our look-out from the top of the iceberg that we might 
travel that long without making any discovery of the 
least importance. 

Living so long on salt ^^junk" and dry biscuit had 
made us all qualmish at the stomach ; and we felt such 
a longing after fresh meat and vegetables that I believe 
we should have made up our minds to travel further 
toward the pole at all hazards, had there been any 
reason to suppose that we should find a butcher's shop 
and market-garden in that vicinity. On the morning 
after we had made up our minds to return to the brig, 
I had just emerged from my sleeping-bag and was about 
to draw on my seal-skin boots, when Bonsall, who had 
" turned out*' earlier than the others to prepare a dish of 
coifee, startled us all with the exclamation, " A fox ! a 
fox !" at the same moment he snatched up a gun and fired 
at the animal, slightly wounding him in the flank. My 
imagination immediately presented the delicious odor 
of fresh meat ; and although I was but half dressed, 
having no coat on my back and no boots on my feet, I 
started in pursuit of Reynard, who was limping away 
as expeditiously as his wound would permit. I was so 
eager in the chase that I actually forgot that I was 
running over the ice in my stocking feet. After a race 
of more than a mile in length, I overtook the wounded 
fox and caught him by the brush, but he turned his 



90 Godfrey's narrative of the 

head and bit my fingers so severely that I was obliged 
to relinquish my grasp of his tail; however, it was no 
part of my design to give him up, as I was already 
feasting, in imagination, on his carcass. I kicked him 
several times in rapid succession with my unbooted foot ; 
till, at last, he caught the toe of my stocking in his 
mouth and held on with invincible resolution. I en- 
deavored to disengage my foot, but the fox still main- 
tained his hold and finally made a prize of my stocking 
by pulling it ofi", leaving my naked right foot in imme- 
diate contact with the ice. I now became desperate, 
resolving to put an end to the contest by one masterly 
movement. Thus heroically determined, I threw my- 
self on the body of my antagonist, clasped him in my 
arms, and gave him a squeeze which he was not cunning 
enough to construe as an evidence of my afi'ection ; for 
while I lifted him up and pressed him to my bosom, he 
dropped the stocking from his mouth and made a snap 
at my nose, which would certainly have demolished that 
feature if it had taken efi'ect. But I had the advan- 
tage of him now, and soon placed him on my shoulder 
in a position which prevented him from using his teeth 
to the detriment of my person. With as much joy and 
triumph as Wellington must have felt after the battle 
of Waterloo, I now returned to my companions, who 
raised a shout of congratulation at my approach. There 
was but one drawback on my perfect felicity : the toes 
of my naked foot were severely frost-bitten ; but until 
my comrades called my attention to the subject, I 
really was not aware that I was walking barefoot over 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 91 

the polar ice. My mental excitement caused me to 
overlook my bodily suffering. I had secured a prize 
which made all of our party inexpressibly happy ; and, 
as a matter of course, I was the happiest one of the 
party. By the way, I fear it will be difficult to make 
the reader comprehend how the capture of a fox could 
produce so much happiness. No man can sympathize 
with our pleasurable feelings on this occasion unless 
he has experienced that indescribable and almost insup- 
portable craving after a change of diet which is felt by 
mariners who have subsisted for many months on those 
nauseous sea-messes which, by constant repetition, 
become as displeasing to the palate as they are preju- 
dicial to health. Nature, in her own defense, produces 
a strong feeling of repugnance to those salted meats 
which are used on shipboard, when the use of these 
becomes deleterious, by inducing that horrid disease 
called scurvy, by which vessels which make long voy- 
ages are sometimes almost depopulated. * 
The fox we had caught belonged to a variety which, 
I believe, is peculiar to Northern climes, viz : the 
blue fox. The flesh is very savory ; at least, it appeared 
so to us, after our long abstinence from fresh meat. 
The fur of this variety is very fine and valuable ; a 
single skin being worth at least twenty dollars. 



92 Godfrey's narrative op the 



CHAPTER X 

WHAT OUR SLEDGE PARTY DISCOVERED — NO OPEN POLAR 
SEA — ALARMING CONDITION OF THE TRAVELERS — AN 
AUDACIOUS FOX — THE AUTHOR'S POWER OF ENDUR- 
ANCE—SEVERAL OF HIS COMPANIONS IN DESPAIR — 
THEY ARE IN DANGER OF FREEZING TO DEATH — 
THEIR INCLINATION TO GO TO SLEEP — SUFFERING 
MAKES THEM INSANE — PROVISIONS EXHAUSTED — 
MIRACULOUS PRESERVATION. 

On this journey, the particulars of which were nar- 
rated in the preceding chapter, we must have traveled 
nearly two hundred miles further north than our brig 
ever proceeded. I judge that we went beyond the 82d 
degree N. latitude. In the accomplishment of this 
task, we endured hardships which I have scarcely at- 
tempted to describe, because no description could afford 
any idea of the reality ; and yet the journey was without 
any results of a satisfactory nature. Say that we 
traveled one hundred and seventy-five miles, and saw 
fifty miles further from the top of the iceberg ; this 
would make the whole extent of our exploration two 
hundred and twenty-five miles ; and in the whole of 
that space, we made no discovery of any importance to 
science or humanity. We saw nothing, in fact, but a 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 95 

wilderness of ice and barren rocks, without any appear- 
ance of vegetable life ; unless an occasional patch of 
moss, attached to a rock, deserves to be considered as 
an exception. And yet I think we must have seen 
beyond that point which Mr. Sonntag, in his map, 
makes the locality of the Polar Sea discovered by Mr. 
Morton. I believe my eyes are as good as those of 
Mr. Morton, and I honestly confess that I saw nothing 
of the kind. The ice became more compact as we ad- 
vanced, and I saw nothing to make me suspect that 
there was open water ahead. 

When we started on our journey back to the brig, 
my companions were almost in a disabled condition. 
Several of them were afflicted with snow-blindness, all 
w^re more or less frost-bitten, and they were so enfee- 
bled by the benumbing influences of the atmosphere, 
that they staggered like persons intoxicated. My iron 
constitution, (for which God be thanked,) made me 
almost insensible to the cold, and the consequences 
thereof affected me in a very slight degree. During 
the whole time of my sojournment in the arctic regions, 
I never experienced any inconvenience from snow- 
blindness, rheumatism, catarrh, or any other disease 
incidental to the climate. And yet none of my com- 
panions of the voyage can deny that I was more ex- 
posed to the rude breath of the North, than any other 
man of the brig's company ; for I was always in good 
health and ready for duty, whereas not another man 
on board was prepared, at all times, for active service. 
The fox I had caught was almost totally consumed 



96 Godfrey's^ narrative of the 

at a single meal by my comrades and myself. Our 
provisions had become very scarce ; but we determined 
to suffer for want almost to the last extremity, rather 
than disturb the deposits of provisions we had made 
on our outward journey. While we were making pre- 
parations to return, all my comrades, except Whipple, 
appeared to be much dispirited. The arctic breezes, 
operating like the " chill penury," which the poet Gray 
speaks of, seemed to have repressed their noble rage, 
and frozen the genial current of their souls ; for, 
Whipple excepted, they had no longer vital energy 
enough to comfort and sustain themselves by hard 
swearing. Whipple, whose temper was all pepper and 
mustard, would occasionally pause in his labor, and 
thrashing his arm across his breast to restore warmth 
and animation to his system, would pour forth a torrent 
of maledictions, with so many allusions to the fiery lake 
and other Tartarean scenery, that I could almost 
imagine at such times that we had suddenly been trans- 
ported to a much warmer climate. These outbursts 
evidently revived the drooping spirits of our whole 
party. 

On the second day after we began to retrace our 
steps, a blue fox had the audacity to join our company. 
He came trotting along by the side of the sledge with 
perfect composure ; but although he was evidently un- 
acquainted with man, his tameness was not shocking 
to me. On the contrary, I was delighted with his 
familiar and confiding disposition, and it was really 
with great reluctance that I prepared to give him an 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 9T 

illustration of human treachery and barbarity, by pre- 
senting my rifle, and planting a bullet in his unsuspi- 
cious breast. The flesh of this victim of misplaced 
confidence afi'orded us another grateful repast, and 
contributed, in a high degree, to invigorate and re- 
animate our poor fellows, who could scarcely be per- 
suaded to continue their march. Several of the party 
were ready, every moment, to throw themselves on the 
ice and take their last sleep in life, preliminary to that 
sleep " which knows no waking.'* The efi*ect of intense 
cold is sometimes to make men perfectly reckless of all 
consequences, when their half congealed blood induces 
that lethargic feeling which, if not resisted, is sure to 
be fatal. When several persons are traveling together 
in the polar regions, it often requires the constant ex- 
ertions of some of the party to keep others from falling 
into that sleep which is more than '' the image of 
death'' — for it is death itself! 

Whipple and I, being more alive than the rest of our 
party, were obliged to undertake the responsible duty 
of keeping the others in motion ; and, in order to " stir 
them up," we were obliged to administer some pretty 
sound cuffs and many a hard shake, which barely suf- 
ficed, however, to make them move on mechanically, 
like people who had lost all power of volition. In ad- 
dition to all the trouble of taking care of our comrades, 
Whipple and I were compelled to draw the sledge, and 
to perform all other labors which had hitherto been 
distributed among the whole party. As soon as we 
came to a convenient place, we made an excavation in 
9 



98 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE 

a deep snow drift, to afford our company some shelter 
from the wind, which was now blowing with a keenness 
that seemed to cut like a razor. We then put our sick 
comrades in their sleeping sacks, to make them as 
comfortable as possible, and enable them to enjoy a re- 
freshing nap without the risk of freezing; and, after 
thus disposing of them for the present, we proceeded 
to kindle a fire of pork-fat and blubber, in order to 
prepare a warm supper for our invalids by the time 
they should wake up. We cut up the fox which I had 
shot in the morning, and which by this time was frozen, 
and as stiff and hard as a piece of wood. In about 
three hours we succeeded in making a fine kettle of 
fox-broth, in which I crumbled a suitable quantity of 
ship biscuit, and then awakened my comrades and called 
them to partake of the mess. The refreshing slumber 
they had enjoyed, and the good warm supper, made a 
strange revulsion in their feelings, and a corresponding 
change in their behavior. They had completely re- 
covered from their late torpor, and now became excited 
to a degree which resembled intoxication or insanity. 
They sang scraps of old songs, uttered wild exclama- 
tions, and gesticulated violently; but as their excite- 
ment appeared to be pleasurable, we made no attempt 
to check it. However, there was something haggard 
and ghastly in their mirth which shocked me. It was 
the first time that I had ever seen exposure to extreme 
cold operate in this way ; but, on many subsequent oc- 
casions, I saw temporary madness induced by this cause. 
The effect seems to proceed from a strong effort of na- 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 99 

ture to produce a reaction in the physical system when 
the vital energies thereof have been nearly prostrated. 
During the remainder of our journey, two-thirds of the 
party were in a lunatic condition ; but their mental 
aberration was, no doubt, a blessing in disguise, as it 
made them more insensible of suffering ; and this un- 
natural excitement was, perhaps, the only thing which 
could have enabled them to hold out until we reached 
the brig. *^ 

On the next evening we arrived at a spot where we 
found a considerable quantity of dried moss, which was 
very useful to us as fuel, as our slush and blubber had 
become rather scarce. Our bread (ship biscuit) was 
likewise nearly exhausted, so that we were obliged to 
live chiefly on salt pork and pemmican. Occasionally, 
as we traveled onward, we came to places where the 
rocks afforded a sort of vegetable substance, a species 
of lichen, which we collected and boiled as a substitute 
for cabbage or greens. The taste of this article w^as 
too much like senna to be palatable. 

As we had nearly used up all our provisions, the 
sled was comparatively light, a circumstance which af- 
forded us an opportunity to give our feeble comrades 
an occasional ride — one at a time. The man who rode 
was placed in a sleeping-bag, to prevent him from 
freezing ; an accident which, but for such precaution, 
would be very likely to happen, v^hen the limbs of the 
individual were no longer in active use. For several 
days after we started on our return trip, I thought it 
impossible to get all our people back to the brig alive. 



100 Godfrey's narrative of the 

But, thanks to God, we succeeded in doing so at last. 
We had been absent twenty-seven days. During the 
whole of that time the thermometer was from 30° to 
40° below zero; our breath froze and formed icicles on 
our beards and mustaches ; the perspiration from our 
bodies produced a moisture in our sleeping-bags which 
became ice as soon as we left them, and when we were 
about to "turn in" for the night we were obliged to 
encase ourselves in these icy envelopes. For nearly a 
whole month we never warmed ourselves at a fire, as 
the fires we could make were scarcely large enough to 
boil our cofiee, and the heat afforded bv them could not 
be felt at the distance of one foot. Had the experiment 
not been tried, it would be hard to believe that any 
human creature could survive so much exposure to 
cold; and when we consider how often persons are 
frozen to death in our own country, where the tempera- 
ture is seldom below zero, it is really a very surprising 
matter that arctic sailors should exist for weeks to- 
gether constantly exposed to an atmosphere* from 40° 
to 50° colder than it ever is in the United States, 
Had we possessed fifty lives each, we endured enough, 
on this journey, to destroy them all, and I am com- 
pelled to regard our preservation as a miracle. 



GRINNRLL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 101 



CHAPTER XI. 

OTTE, SLEDGE PARTY RETURN TO THE BRIG — WE FIND 
THE ADVANCE IN HER WINTER HARBOR — PREPARA- 
TIONS FOR THE DARK SEASON — STRANGE FANCY OF 
THE DOGS — THEIR TROUBLESOME BEHAVIOR — WHY 
THEY LIKE HUMAN SOCIETY — THE AUTHOR'S OBJEC- 
TIONS TO DOGS AS DRAUGHT ANIMALS— ANOTHER 
SLEDGE JOURNEY — HORRORS OF THE ARCTIC WINTER — 

DR. Kane's warlike demonstration against the 

RATS. 

Contrary to all reasonable expectation, we got back 
to the brig without the loss of a single man, though 
several of our party were very ill for some days after- 
ward. During our absence the brig had been placed 
in her winter harbor, about a mile from the place 
where we had left her. The spot was well chosen, 
being a small bay, well protected on the seaward side 
by lofty rocks, and open to the south and east for the 
reception of the sunshine, when we should happen to 
have any. The bay was just about large enough, ex- 
clusive of the space occupied by three small islands, to 
afford us commodious anchorage. The soundings be- 
tween the islands, showed about seven fathoms. In 
9^ 



102 GODFREY^S NARRATIVE OF THE 

short, it was a snug resting-place for the Advance ; and 
so it ought to have been, considering the length of time 
she was destined to occupy it — for, if the Esquimaux 
have not pulled her to pieces, she is there yet. 

While we were away, our comrades had been making 
preparations for passing the winter in this gloomy re- 
treat. They had built an observatory and a provision- 
house on one of the little rocky islands near the brig. 
They had also made some improvements in the intei*nal 
arrangements of the brig, preparatory for the cold 
weather, by building an additional room between decks, 
where the cooking-stove was put up and a number of 
bunks were fixed for the men to sleep on. At the time 
of our return, Mr. Ohlsen, the carpenter, assisted by 
Mr. Petersen, was employed in erecting a house on the 
deck of the brig ; and this afterward proved to be a 
very excellent contrivance, tending to promote the 
health and comfort of our people. In order to make 
more room on board for the accommodation of the 
officers and crew, the provisions were all removed to 
the store-house which had been built on a neighboring 
rocky islet, to which Dr. Kane had given the name of 
Butler Island. 

On this island, besides our other building improve- 
ments, the men had built a dog-kennel, large enough 
to afford comfortable lodgings for all our canine family ; 
but the perverse brutes refused to occupy the habita- 
tion which had been provided for them with so much 
trouble. They broke out of their kennel and couched 
themselves on the snow near the brig, where their 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 103 

howling every night was a terrible annoyance to some 
of our men, who entertained the superstitious notion 
that such nocturnal music is ominous of ill-luck. The 
preference shown by the Esquimaux dogs for sleeping 
on the snow near the brig, rather than in the hut on 
the island, was considered by Dr. Kane as a somewhat 
affecting incident, proving that these quadrupeds have 
an instinctive attachment to human society. I regarded 
the circumstance in a different light : these dogs had 
been accustomed, from their early puppyhood^to sleep 
on the snow near the huts of their Esquimaux masters, 
and as this mode of lodging had become habitual to 
tPthem, they could not be satisfied with any other. I 
consider it very derogatory to the canine character, to 
suppose that dogs have any natural inclination for 
human society. In his wild state, the dog is quite free 
from any weakness of that kind, and it requires a great 
deal of discipline or training to make him endure the 
company of our species. The Esquimaux dogs are only 
in a half-reclaimed condition, and I have much reason 
to believe that they would cut the acquaintance of 
mankind altogether, if they could maintain themselves 
without human assistance. While we retained some 
of them in our service, they frequently ran away, two 
or three at a time, and remained abroad until they were 
nearly starved, when they would come back with evi- 
dent reluctance and a sullenness of deportment, which 
seemed to say, " We do not like your company, you 
two-legged rascals, but necessity compels us to associate 
with you a little while longer.'' 



104 Godfrey's narrative of the 

There was not a great deal of love lost, (as the saying 
is,) between our men and the dogs. Among our crew they 
were very unpopular, and although their services were 
supposed to be indispensable, the animals could scarcely 
be tolerated, as they made themselves as troublesome 
as possible and their consumption of food was enormous. 
On our sledge journeys we were often obliged to half 
starve ourselves in order to afford our dogs the neces- 
sary supply of provisions, without which they would be 
unable to perform their work. It is a most unfor- 
tunate circumstance of arctic travel, that dog- 
sledging is the only practicable means of conveyance 
or transportation in the polar regions. This circum-# 
stance necessarily makes all journeys by land or over 
the ice of brief duration ; as dogs cannot travel many 
days in succession without " breaking down ;'' and it is 
impossible for an exploring party to carry enough pro- 
visions to maintain these voracious brutes through a 
very long journey. It is true that there is a possibility 
of obtaining, occasionally, fresh supplies of animal food 
on the way ; but this resource is too precarious to justify 
any arctic traveler in placing much dependence thereon. 
The principal animals whose flesh could be made useful 
in these cases are the bear, walrus, seal, and blue fox. 
I have found by experience that it is possible to travel 
many miles in Greenland, and on the frozen waters con- 
tiguous to that region, without seeing one of the crea- 
tures mentioned above, and even when they are seen it 
may require some trouble to secure their spoils. During 
the whole time of our stay in the arctic regions, (more 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 105 

than two years), we killed but three or four bears, one 
walrus, and about half a dozen seals, although some of 
our people were frequently engaged in hunting. The 
foxes are taken chiefly in traps, but a party traveling 
in sledges for the purpose of making explorations, would 
find the trapping of foxes a very dilatory and uncertain 
process, and one on which it would be foolish to depend 
for a supply of animal food. Owing to the deficient 
supply of such food which the polar regions afford, 
(especially such parts of those regions as require explo- 
ration), traveling in dog-sledges is attended with very 
great diflSculties. I see no reason why rein-deer should 
not be used by arctic travelers for draught animals, 
instead of dogs. They could be much more easily main- 
tained, as they require but little food ; and in a case of 
necessity, they could subsist on the lichen which grows 
on the rocks in every part of Greenland. Besides, as 
I think, they would be found more serviceable than 
dogs ; being equal in speed to the latter and having 
much greater power of endurance. 

It was about the middle of September when the arctic 
winter set in ; the sun did not quite disappear, however, 
until the 10th of October. In the latter part of Sep- 
tember, Dr. Kane, Dr. Hayes, and Mr. Sonntag made 
an excursion to Cape Frederick, where the traveling 
party to which I belonged had made the first deposit 
of provisions. The object of Dr. Kane and his compan- 
ions in visiting this spot was to ascertain the tempera- 
ture and to make other scientific observations. They 
traveled in a dog-sledge, and of course were enabled to 



106 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE 

proceed more expeditiously than our party, Tvhich went 
on foot, and dragged a sledge heavily laden with provi- 
sions after thera. But the Doctor's party had the ill- 
luck to encounter hio-h winds and a heavy snow storm. 
The wind made them feel the cold more severely, and\^ 
the snow storm caused them to lose their way. They '' 
returned to the brig, at last, in a very pitiable condi- 
tion, every one of them being more or less afflicted 
with snow blindness ; and, but for the sagacity of the 
dogs in retracing their route, the whole party might 
have perished. This party was absent two days. 

When the sun was about to make his final adieu for 
the season, the Commander sent out Bonsall and Blake 
with directions to proceed southward, to a place on the 
coast where we had left a boat and some tools. They 
were required to see if these articles were safe, as there 
was some likelihood that the wandering Esquimaux had 
overhauled them. The distance was about thirty-five 
miles, and the two men commenced their journey thither 
in a dog-sledge. They met with great difficulties on 
their way, as the road over the ice was so rough, and 
unmanageable that they were unable to proceed more 
than eight or ten miles per day. They were likewise 
overtaken by the darkness when they were about twenty 
miles from the brig ; and to put the climax to their 
misfortunes, their sled broke down before they had 
reached their place of destination. They came back 
with the dogs, leaving their broken sledge on the ice ; 
and when they arrived at the brig they were speechless 
and scarcely alive. Hans, (Dr. Kane's pet Esquimaux,) 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. lOT 

and Whipple were sent after the broken sledge, which 
they luckily found and brought back, having taken a dog 
team with them for that purpose. 

The long arctic winter was now down upon us ; we 
expected to see no more of the sun for several months. 
Outside of our vessel nothing was seen but ice, snow, 
and naked rocks ; unless we turned our eyes upward 
to behold a sky which could not be seen without a thrill 
of horror, so repulsively unnatural was its appearance. 
The arctic heavens, after the disappearance of the sun, 
resemble a vast arch or dome of granite, almost forcing 
the beholder to imagine himself in one of " the pro- 
foundest caves of gloomy Dis," or in one of those 
central caverns of the earth which, (according to the 
theory of Captain Simmes,) have their entrance near 
the Pole. When the moon is visible, the sky glistens 
with a faint metallic lustre, like the interior of the dome 
of a German church lined with lead ; or like any thing 
else rather than the cheerful aspect of the etherial fir- 
mament. On every object around and above us 

" Black Melancholy sits, and round her throws 
A death- like silence and a dread repose." 

It is impossible to describe the effect produced by 
polar scenery on those who can see nothing else for 
months together. The very soul of man seems to be 
suffocated by the oppressive gloom, the horrid silence, 
the changeless appearance of surrounding objects, 
among which no signs of animated nature can be dis- 
cerned ; for all that the eye can compass is fixed and 
still, like a sad and dreary picture, or some magnificent 



108 Godfrey's narrative of the 

piece of sculpture, representing a scene of utter deso- 
lation. 

As might be expected, in view of their situation, our 
men were all terribly afflicted with the blue devils. I 
hoped that our officers would feel disposed to get up 
some kind of dramatic entertainments for our relief, 
as Captain Parry did in 1821, when his ships were 
detained among the icebergs in Repulse Bay. But 
I rather suspect that Captain Kane was conscientiously 
scrupulous about these matters, as he had been educated 
among Christians of the straitest sect. As circum- 
stances had deprived me, in a great measure, of the 
advantages of a religious training, I was heathenish 
enough to become an amateur performer, in a small 
way, for the diversion of my moping companions. I 
blacked my face occasionally with charcoal dust, and 
treated the poor fellows to a few Ethiopian songs, and 
a lecture to match, which seemed to do them some 
good, although Jack Frost was nibbling at their toes 
during the performance. One of my ears was actually 
frozen once, while I was singing an amusing negro 
melody to a select audience on the fore-deck. 

Notwithstanding our melancholy seclusion among the 
ice-cakes, we were not quite killed by ennuij for we 
had employments enough during the winter to keep the 
mind (which has been aptly compared to a mill-stone) 
from grinding itself away. When I was not engaged 
in out-door work, I applied myself to the arts of tailor- 
ing and boot-making, my principal material being the 
skins of seals and bears. At this time there was a 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 109 

good deal of sickness on board. Dr. Kane himself 
was severely afflicted with rheumatism. Whipple had 
agonizing pains in the back. Stevenson and several 
others were down with the scurvy. Schubert, the 
French cook, was seldom well enough to attend to his 
duty, and it was my fate to be everybody's substitute. 
I was the hunter, dog-trainer, boot and breeches-maker, 
journeyman carpenter, Ethiopian serenader, and French 
cook, pro tem.^ besides executing a dozen other offices 
and commissions which could not have been required 
of me, according to the letter of my contract. But, if 
I happened to grumble a little, (which I seldom did, 
however,) the prompt answer was, " You ought to be 
thankful, William, that you have health and strength 
sufficient for the performance of these tasks. Consider 
how much better your condition is than that of your 
sick comrades." 

These words of reproof and consolation were always 
effective, and I became sensible that any complaint on 
my part was impious and ungrateful. 

As the winter wore away, Ohlsen (the carpenter) and 
Petersen began to fit up sleds for the purpose of mak- 
ing journeys of exploration in the spring. It was Dr. 
Kane's intention to send an exploring party over land 
to the western coast of Greenland ; or, at least, to test 
the practicability of such an enterprise. The dis- 
tance to be traveled would probably be between six 
hundred and eight hundred miles. The interior of 
Greenland is supposed to be little else than a mass of 
ice, with scarcely any animal or vegetable productions. 
10 



110 Godfrey's narrative of the 

In view of these circumstances, the proposed journey 
offered nothing very inviting to the most adventurous 
spirits ; for travelers generally go in pursuit of novelty^ 
which no one could expect to find in a region of un- 
varying ice. 

It is unnecessary to speak of our life on board of the 
brig during the winter. Enough has been said to con- 
vince the reader that such a life is little better than a 
living death. We were entombed in ice, and we were 
so much worse off than those who are really dead, that 
we were sensible of our wretched situation, and alive 
to the keenest suffering. 

The only stirring incident which comes to my re- 
membrance as an occurrence of the dark season, was 
an attempt made by Dr. Kane to exterminate the rats 
with which the brig was much infested. We had shipped 
a good many of these animals at the different ports 
where we had stopped, and they had fully carried out 
in practice the scriptural injunction, ''Increase and 
multiply." Our commander had a fancy for doing 
things in the most scientific manner ; he therefore de- 
termined to destroy all the rats, "at one fell swoop,'' 
by dosing them with carbonic acid gas. We were all 
turned out of our comfortable quarters between decks 
to make room for this interesting experiment, which 
was to proclaim the triumph of human knowledge over 
brutal instinct. The hatches were closed, a number of 
furnaces and other vessels containing ignited charcoal 
were placed in the interior of the brig, and all the 
cracks and crevices having been closely stopped, the 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. Ill 

rats were abandoned to their fate. The fumigation was 
continued for thirty-six hours without intermission, and 
so effectually was the gas applied that no less than 
fourteen full-sized rats were done to death ; and the 
French cook, Monsieur Schubert, was very near coming 
to the same conclusion. In the warmth of his profes- 
sional zeal, he went below to dress a slice of ham for 
the Captain's dinner, forgetful of the orders which had 
been issued for all hands to keep out of the gaseous 
atmosphere between decks. Schubert was overpowered 
by the unwholesome vapor, and fell into convulsions. 
Morton, the steward, endeavored to haul him up the 
ladder but failed in the attempt, and fell down likewise. 
Dr. Kane hastened to the assistance of the cook and 
steward, and met with the same ill fortune ; and all 
three of them might have perished but for the strenuous 
exertions of the whole brig's company to save them. 
Moreover, the brig took fire from one of the furnaces 
in which charcoal was burned in order to suffocate the 
rats ; and so the Doctor's experiment proved almost as 
disastrous as that of the Dutch farmer of Pennsylvania, 
who set fire to his barn for the purpose of exterminating 
the vermin which infested that building. Luckily the 
fire on board of our vessel was extinguished before 
much damage was done ; but the Doctor (who for seve- 
ral days after felt the effects of the gas which he had 
inhaled), was not sufficiently satisfied with the result of 
his charcoal experiment to give it a second trial. 



112 Godfrey's narrative of the 



CHAPTER XII. 

TERMINATION OF THE DARK SEASON — GRAND JUBILEE — 
AN EXPLORING PARTY — INAUSPICIOUS BEGINNING OF 
THE JOURNEY — OUR TRAVELING COSTUME — GLOOMY 
ANTICIPATIONS OF THE TRAVELERS — ;THE AUTHOR'S 
PET FOX — HIS GREAT ACHIEVEMENTS AMONG THE 
RATS — A SUGGESTION FOR SPORTING GENTLEMEN — 
SINGULAR RAT TRAP — SAD INTELLIGENCE FROM THE 
EXPLORING PARTY. 

We had a glimpse of the returning sun about the 
latter part of February. None but those who know by 
experience what it is to see no daylight for several 
months, can appreciate our feelings of joy and exulta- 
tion when the first rays of the long-absent luminary 
were seen on the mountain tops. On that occasion, 
we all became idolaters — sun-worshipers — hailing the 
advent of old Sol with as much rapturous enthusiasm as 
was ever manifested by his Eastern devotees. 

A few days after the joyful event just mentioned, we 
began to make active preparations for carrying out 
Dr. Kane's stupendous project of sending an exploring 
party across the whole breadth of Greenland to the 
western coast. The persons detailed for this service 
w^ere Brooks, (who officiated as leader of the party,) 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 113 

Sonntag, Wilson, Baker, Schubert, and Hickey. These 
were to start on the expedition, dragging their provi- 
sions and baggage in a large sledge, constructed ex- 
pressly for the purpose ; and, some days after, Dr. Kane 
himself was to follow in his dog-sledge. 

On the 5th of March the large sledge was made 
ready, and its load of provisions, &c., was placed in it, 
preparatory for commencing the journey. The men 
who were appointed to haul it, then took hold of the 
ropes and drew the vehicle about one hundred yards on 
the ice, to ascertain if all the apparatus were in good 
working order. The men then came back to the brig 
and reposed themselves for several hours. At eleven 
o'clock, P. M., a luncheon was prepared for them on 
board, and all things being now quite ready, they com- 
menced their expedition at midnight, the thermometer 
then indicating 40° below zero. The travelers pro- 
ceeded about seven miles from the brig, when they were 
obliged to come to a halt, having found to their sorrow, 
that the sledge, however well it might work on the hard 
ice, was not suitably constructed for traveling on any 
yielding surface, such as the deep snow with which the 
ice was covered at the point which they had now 
re*ached. The runners of this sledge were so narrow 
that they sunk very deeply into the snow, and thus 
made the heavily-laden vehicle almost immovable. The 
party therefore pitched their tent, and sent Wilson and 
Hickey back to the brig to apprize the commander of 
their diflSculty. When these men arrived and delivered 
their message, Dr. Kane ordered out another sledge, 
10^ 



114 Godfrey's narrative op the 

which was provided with very broad runners, and 
Riley, Whipple, and myself were directed to drag this 
sledge to our comrades, and bring back the one which 
they had found unserviceable. The wind blew in our 
teeth as we proceeded on this mission, and the cold 
produced a sensation which could scarcely be distin- 
guished from burning ; but when we became benumbed, 
or about half frozen to death, w^e began to feel more 
comfortable. 

The dress worn by our men on this journey, and on 
similar occasions, was cut according to the Esquimaux 
fashion. A monkey-jacket, or ^'jumper" covers the 
upper part of the person. This garment is made of 
bear-skins, with the fur on, and it is provided with a 
hood, which can be drawn over the head and fastened 
around the neck, so as to leave only a small part of 
the face uncovered. Tight breeches of seal-skin, and 
boots of the same material, complete this elegant cos- 
tume, which imparts to the wearer a more bear-like 
appearance than would be required of an actor dressed 
for one of the leading parts in the drama of "Valentine 
and Orson.'' 

Guided by Wilson and Hickey, we reached the tent 
which our travelers had pitched on the ice. They 
seemed to have become sick of their undertaking 
already, though they had traveled only seven miles of 
a journey which might extend to seven hundred. The 
general opinion among them was, that this enterprise 
had been commenced too socn in the season ; for the 
sun, as yet, was almost powerless, and the temperature 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 115 

of the atmosphere was almost as low as it had been at 
any time during the winter. 

While the traveling party groaned and grumbled in 
anticipation of the hardsips they were about to en- 
counter, Riley, Whipple, and I were engaged in trans- 
ferring the load from the rejected sledge to the one 
which we had brought with us ; and, when this work 
was completed, we (somewhat ironically,) wished the 
travelers a pleasant journey, and bade them " good- 
night/' In answer to which one of them rather dis- 
courteously recommended us to go to some place which 
lies a little to the southward of purgatory. 

A whole day had been consumed by the traveling 
party in waiting for a change of sledges, and the dijffi- 
culties they had met with at the outset must have had 
a very discouraging effect. My two companions and I 
returned to the brig, dragging the sledge from which 
the load had been removed, and which, in its lightened 
condition, could be moved without much trouble. The 
next day I began to put a team of dogs in training, in 
order to have them under due regulation for the use of 
Dr. Kane, when he should proceed westward to join the 
exploring party I have just been speaking of. In order 
to put the dogs in practice, I harnessed them in a 
sledge and drove to the fox-traps, which we had set in 
various places, at some distance from the brig. These 
traps are of Esquimaux invention ; they are constructed 
by placing flat stones in a position to form a sort of 
box ; another stone, suspended by a string, makes the 
falling door, the end of the string being carried over 



116 Godfrey's narrative of the 

the top of the trap, and fastened to a trigger, which is 
baited and placed at the back part of the box, so that 
when the fox nibbles at the bait the string is disengaged, 
the door falls and closes the aperture in front, making 
the animal a prisoner. The traps had not been ex- 
amined for a week ; several foxes had been caught ; but 
all except one were frozen stiff, and were as dead as red- 
herrings. I brought the dead animals as well as the 
survivor to the brig ; the latter was soon domesticated 
on board, and became a great favorite. This blue fox 
conducted himself with the strictest propriety, and 
made himself extremely useful by hunting the rats, 
which, in spite of Dr. Kane's grand fumigation, con- 
tinued to be very numerous and troublesome. ''Jack,'' 
as I called my pet, killed more of the long-tailed ras- 
cals in half an hour than the fumigation aforesaid did 
in two days. For ''ratting" purposes, I consider the 
blue fox as far superior to any terrier ; and I conceive 
that it would be worth while for some sporting gen- 
tleman to import a few arctic foxes for the sake of car- 
rying on that elegant and tasteful recreation called 
rat-hunting, which has lately become so fashionable in 
the United States. Before my fox was brought, the 
vermin had become so bold and impudent that they 
scarcely took any trouble to keep out of our way. It 
was no uncommon thing for them to run over us at 
night while we were asleep ; and on one occasion an 
indivdual of the species attempted to warm his feet at 
Whipple's nose, which was somewhat of a Bardolph 
complexion and glowed like a coal-grate. Whipple, 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 11 Y 

though in a profound slumber at the time, felt the tail 
of the intrusive brute in his mouth, and instinctively 
closed his teeth with a snap, like that of a steel rat- 
trap. The squealing of the rat, whose tail was firmly 
held between Whipple's masticators, awakened the 
sleeper, who put up his hand and caught the animal, 
which, after biting his fingers rather severely, was 
crushed to death in his grasp. 

I think Monsieur Schubert, the French cook, boasted 
his ability to prepare exquisite dishes, in the most ap- 
proved French style, to be composed of rats, with the 
proper seasonings and appliances to make them more 
delicious. One day, when my fox had been more than 
usually successful in hunting, Schubert actually pre- 
pared a rat fricassee^ which was tasted by some of the 
oflScers and pronounced excellent. Although our men 
were pining for a change of diet, and especially for a 
taste of fresh meat, few of them could be persuaded to 
touch this mess, though Schubert used all his rhetoric 
to overcome our scruples, assuring us that similar pre- 
parations were often served up at some of the most 
fashionable restaurants of Paris ; and he stated that, 
among French gourmands, if a dish was found to be 
palatable, no idle curiosity was ever manifested with 
regard to its composition. 

Ten days after the exploring party had started, we 
were aroused from our slumbers at midnight by the in- 
telligence that some of them had returned in a most 
wretched plight, having left several of their companions 
behind in a dying condition, or so much exhausted that 



118 Godfrey's narrative of the 

they were unable to get back. All hands immediately 
arose to give due attention to the sufferers. The per- 
sons who had returned were Ohlsen, Sonntag, and Pe- 
tersen. Their faces were absolutely black. Ohlsen's 
toes were frozen ; Sonntag was stupefied, and appeared 
to be unconscious of his situation ; Petersen was in a 
similar condition ; and Ohlsen informed us that it was 
with extreme diflSculty that he had been able to keep 
his two companions in motion on their way to the brig. 
They showed a constant inclination to lie down and 
sleep ; and had, in fact, been in a sort of somnambulistic 
state during the last ten miles of their journey. Ohlsen, 
though he himself was scarcely alive, was the only one 
of the three who was able to give any account of his 
party. He reported that four of his companions were 
lying in a rude tent, at the distance of forty miles from 
the brig ; that they were all disabled, and, as he be- 
lieved, at the point of death. He had reason to sup- 
pose that they would all perish before any succor could 
reach them. The persons who had just returned de- 
manded our first attention. Ohlsen's statement made 
us fear that the others were beyond the reach of earthly 
assistance. The three returned travelers were put to 
bed without delay, and all the medical skill on board 
was called into immediate requisition. Doctors Kane 
and Hayes gave their most anxious attention to those 
afflicted persons ; who, as soon as they were brought 
into the warmer atmosphere of the lower deck, began to 
suffer with the most excruciating agonies. By the way, 
it may be proper to inform the reader that the suffering 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 119 

which a man experiences while he is freezing, or while 
some of his members are in a frozen condition, is very 
light compared with the horrible anguish which he feels 
when the frozen parts of his body begin to thaw. The 
pains at such times are insupportable, and compel the 
stoutest man to scream out as though he were on the 
rack. It was found necessary to amputate all of 
Ohlsen's toes ; Sonntag and Petersen escaped without 
mutilation, but they were delirious and otherwise very 
ill for several days after their return. 

At an early hour in the morning of the day after the 
return of these three persons, we began to fit out a 
sledge party to go to the relief of our unfortunate com- 
panions who had been left on the ice. The great proba- 
bility was that they had all perished ; but, as we could 
not be quite certain of that fact, we felt bound in duty 
to visit them with as little delay as possible. 



1^ 



120 Godfrey's narrative of the 



CHAPTER XIII. 

DR. KANE AND SEVERAL MEN GO TO THE RELIEF OF THE 
PERSONS SUPPOSED TO BE DYING — SLOW AND TROU- 
BLESOME TRAVELING — OHLSEN'S NOBLE CONDUCT — 
HE WALKS TWENTY MILES WITHOUT ANY TOES — DR. 
KANE'S SUFFERINGS — HIS LIFE IN DANGER — WE 
REACH THE TENT WHERE OUR SICK COMPANIONS ARE 
LYING — THEIR MIRACULOUS PRESERVATION FROM 
DEATH — DR. KANE'S PRAYER. 

The persons selected to go to the relief of our dis- 
tressed comrades were, besides Dr. Kane, who took the 
lead in this business, McGary, Morton, Riley, Blake, 
Bonsall, and myself. It was necessary that we should 
have a guide, otherwise the sick persons might not have 
been found ; and as no others but the three members 
of their party who had returned could direct us on the 
way, it was necessary to take one of those three with 
us. Sonntag and Petersen were totally unfit for this 
duty ; for, besides being too feeble to undertake such 
a journey, they had not recovered their senses. We 
were compelled, therefore^ to make use of poor 
Ohlsen, whose toes had all been cut off only a few hour's 
previous, and who, as the reader may suppose, was not 



OF THE GRINNELL EXPEDITION. 123 

in very good traveling order. His mutilated feet were 
carefully bandaged, and he was placed in a sleeping 
bag of buflfalo-skin, on the sledge ; all care being taken 
to make him as comfortable as he could be in such cir- 
cumstances. 

Unfortunately, we had no available dog-team, as 
great sickness and mortality prevailed among the 
quadrupeds during the winter ; and such of the survivors 
as were well enough to travel were so badly trained and 
so little under control, that we feared that they would 
retard our progress rather than help us onward. It 
was determined, therefore, that the men themselves 
should draw the sledge. The route which had been 
taken by the exploring party was across the channel of 
Smith's Sound, with the intention of reaching the oppo- 
site coast. The ice on the Sound was exceedingly 
rough ; in fact, there was scarcely a square yard with- 
out a hill or a hummock, and our progress with the 
sled was so very slow, that nothing but the disabled 
condition of our guide, Mr. Ohlsen, prevented us from 
leaving the vehicle on the road and proceeding on our 
way without it. Anxiety for the fate of our sick com- 
panions urged us forward, and in spite of all obstacles 
we had cleared fifteen miles by twelve o'clock. At this 
point, rest and refreshment became indispensable ; we 
stopped therefore and had a luncheon of hard biscuit 
and salt pork. Among other preparations for the 
journey, which had been made in the morning before 
our departure, a number of bottles filled with hot water 
had been placed in the sledge ; by means of this provi- 



124 Godfrey's narrative of the 

dent contrivance we were now supplied with something 
to drink, as the water had become cool enough for the 
purpose without being frozen. 

It is a notable circumstance that travelers in the 
polar regions are as liable to suffer for want of water 
as those who wander over the sandy deserts of Africa. 
Ice and snow cannot be used for the purpose of quench- 
ing thirst until they are liquefied ; the liquefaction of 
them, in these regions, requires a good deal of artificial 
heat, and that, of course, is not always attainable in a 
country which produces nothing combustible except 
animal fat. I have often attempted to relieve my 
thirst by sucking pieces of ice or lumps of snow, but the 
expedient is painfully tantalizing, serving rather to 
increase the drought than to allay it. 

Soon after we had disposed of our lunch, we started 
again on our toilsome way ; the inequalities of the 
route made sledge-hauling a work of extreme difficulty, 
and although the temperature, at this time, was more 
than fifty degrees below zero, all of the men who took 
a part in the severe labor were in a profuse perspiration. 
The difficulties of the road increased as we went forward, 
and our progress, at the same time, was so slow, that 
a feeling of despair began to pervade the whole party. 
We liad now been ten hours on the road and had ad- 
vanced but twenty miles. The sledge was the great 
incumbrance, and it was totally useless, except for the 
purpose of conveying our disabled guide. Mr. Ohlsen, 
perceiving where the difficulty lay, with the most heroic 
self-devotion, requested that the unwieldy vehicle might 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 125 

be left behind, and signified his determination to pro- 
ceed on foot. He supposed that we had now achieved 
half of the journey, and that a walk of twenty miles 
would bring us to the place where the sick people had 
been left. But who without a shudder could think of 
permitting a man, whose toes had been amputated on 
the preceding evening, to walk twenty miles on the ice. 
The experiment appeared to be both cruel and danger- 
ous ; but the alternative was still worse. If we should 
attempt to carry the sledge with us, it might require 
ten or twelve hours more to reach our perishing com- 
panions; and so much delay would seem to preclude 
every chance of saving any of their lives. We were there- 
fore, (on the principle of choosing the least of two evils,) 
compelled to embrace Ohlsen's proposition. Accord- 
ingly the sledge was abandoned; and, by supporting 
our guide as well as we could, and carrying him occa- 
sionally, we managed to get on with considerable expe- 
dition. Dr. Kane himself, owing to the delicacy of 
his constitution, which was not well calculated to sus- 
tain such severe hardships, was almost as helpless as 
our guide. He fainted several times, and it required 
all the attention of Morton and myself to keep him in 
motion. At length, after struggling along for five or 
six hours more, we came within view of the tent in 
which we expected to find our comrades, either living 
or dead. We could scarcely think it possible that they 
were yet alive, for when Sonntag, Ohlsen, and Peter- 
sen left them, they were supposed to be in a dying con- 
dition. Thirty-six hours had since elapsed, and during 
11^ 



126 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE 

all that time they could not have had any kind of as- 
sistance or relief. I fixed my eyes on the little tent 
with the most painful anxiety ; it was pitched between 
two hillocks of ice, and the whole scene around was cold, 
dreary, and death-like. In my mind's eye I could 
already see the four corpses, lying on the icy floor of 
the canvas house ; and I thought that if the lives of 
these men could only have been prolonged until our 
arrival, that they might not have believed themselves 
deserted and abandoned by those from whom they had 
a right to expect sympathy and assistance, it would 
have afforded no little consolation both to them and to 
us. 

The death-scene I had imagined appeared to be 
realized when we reached the door of the tent. Four 
bodies, apparently lifeless, each one enclosed in a sleep- 
ing-bag, were lying closely together in the little enclo- 
sure. I was the first one who arrived at the entrance 
of the tent, and for a moment I hesitated to examine 
the bodies, fearful that my worst apprehensions would 
be confirmed. No sound was heard, not even a sup- 
pressed groan, not even the spasmodic breathing of 
persons in the grasp of death. No movement, nor any 
other indication of life could be discovered. I kneeled 
down by the side of one of the bodies, which proved to 
be that of Brooks, the first ofiicer of the brig and com- 
mander of the exploring party, and, with feelings of 
inexpressible joy, I found that he still lived. He fixed 
his eyes on me and gave me a faint smile of recogni- 
tion. I sprung k> the door of the tent and shouted to 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 127 

my companions, who were still at some distance, in 
order to relieve them as soon as possible from their 
painful suspense and to encourage them to hasten 
onward. I then examined the other three bodies, and 
found that the vital spark still lingered in them all. 

The four persons whose lives we came scarcely soon 
enough to save, were Brooks, Wilson, Schubert, and 
Baker. As soon as Dr. Kane and the others of our 
party arrived at the tent, the Doctor professionally 
examined the sick people, and found that the condition 
of two of them, at least, was critical. All were badly 
frozen, but Schubert and Baker were believed to be 
beyond all chance of recovery. However, under Dr. 
Kane's directions, every available remedy was applied 
on the spot ; though it was evident that little could be 
done for the suiferers before they were reconveyed to 
the brig. A fire of lard, blubber, waste-paper, &c., 
was kindled in an earthen pan at the door of the tent, 
and the preparation of some warm broth for the sick was 
immediately commenced. The sledge which had been 
used by the exploring party stood near the tent ; on 
this we placed our invalid companions, after the broth 
had been administered to them in homoeopathic doses, 
and having rested ourselves for half an hour, we started 
on our return. The dangerous condition of the sick 
persons required that we should hasten back to our 
vessel, where they might meet with those attentions 
which their situation demanded. 

When we were all ready to begin our backward 
journey. Dr. Kane, in a short but atFecting prayer, 



128 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE 

earnestly recommended our party to the protection 
of Divine Providence. He acknowledged the merciful 
kindness of God, which had preserved the lives of 
several of our number in a manner which might almost 
be regarded as miraculous, and he implored Omnipo- 
tent Goodness to mitio^ate the sufferino-s of those who 
were afflicted, and so to direct us that we might escape 
the great danger to which we must be exposed on the 
journey we were about to commence. 

A feeling of sadness pervaded the whole party, and our 
march much resembled that of a funeral procession. In 
fact, the sledge we were dragging was laden w^ith the 
sick and dying; and there was little room to doubt that 
some of them would be dead before we could arrive at 
our place of destination. 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 129 



CHAPTER XIY. 

A TERRIBLE JOURNEY OVER THE ICE — SUICIDAL DROW- 
SINESS OF OUR PEOPLE — THEY BECOME DESPERATELY 
SOMNOLENT — DR. KANE AND THE AUTHOR TRAVEL BY 
THEMSELVES — THE DOCTOR'S VISION OF A BEAR — THE 
author's troublesome duties — HE CARRIES THE 
DOCTOR ON HIS SHOULDER — THE DOCTOR MISTAKES 
HIM FOR A BEAR — THE AUTHOR SHAVES THE DOCTOR 
WITH A JACK-KNIFE — STRANGE FACT RESPECTING 
SPIRITUOUS LIQUORS. 

As we had anticipated, our return to the brig was 
attended with still more trouble, hardships, and perils 
than we had encountered on our way to the tent. We 
had a heavy sledge-load of sick people, five in number, 
including Ohlsen, whose late pedestrian exercise, while 
his condition was so unfit for it, had rendered him as 
helpless as any of the others. The reader may imagine 
how difficult it was to draw a sledge with such a load 
over consolidated masses of ice, where it was impossi- 
ble to proceed two yards without ascending a hill or 
sinking into a hollow. There were places, and not a 
few of them, where every thing on the sledge, including 
the bodies of our invalid passengers, had to be removed 
and laid upon the ice, while we lifted the vehicle over 



130 GODFREY S NARRATIVE OF THE 

some obstruction which would otherwise have been in- 
surmountable. It was a most unfortunate necessity 
which compelled us frequently to disturb these suffering 
people, several of whom appeared to be in their last 
agonies, by lifting them off and on the sledge. In 
some places the hummocks or ridges of ice were impas- 
sable, and we were obliged to go around them, which 
gave us a longer distance to travel. The men worked 
with admirable spirit, as if aware that it was a struggle 
for life ; but with all our exertions, the rate at which 
we traveled was little more than a mile per hour, on 
an average. This sort of progress was not very en- 
couraging, as the distance to the brig was more than 
forty miles; and, as we could not work more than 
twelve hours in the twenty-four, it seemed likely that 
we should be at least three days on the road, and^w^ 
had scarcely enough provisions to serve us for forty- 
eight hours. 

After the first ten miles were passed, the men began 
to show fatigue, and became so drowsy, that one or 
another was continually throwing himself on the ice. 
The scene reminded me of John Bunyan*s account of 
the Enchanted Ground, where men were desperately 
somnolent, although the consequences of sleeping were 
most appalling. Bonsall and Morton begged Dr. Kane, 
in the most pathetic manner, for permission to take 
" only a short nap.'* They were not at all afraid of 
freezing, (they said,) for they did not feel " the least 
bit cold.'' Doubtless that was true enough, and there 
was so much the better reason for not indulging them 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 133 

in their inclination to slumber. At last matters came 
to a crisis ; all hands, except Dr. Kane and myself, 
threw themselves on the ice, in spite of all remon- 
strances, and were asleep in a moment. It was impos- 
sible to arouse them ; nothing could be done therefore 
but to pitch the tent and come to a halt for the night. 
I erected the tent as speedily as I could, and put all 
the people, sick and well, to bed. They were all equally 
helpless ; for sleep made some of them as powerless as 
sickness did the others. I was like the old woman who 
lived in the shoe, having so many children to take care 
of. When I had arranged them all for the night, the 
tent was so much crowded, that there were no sort of 
accommodations for Dr. Kane and me. The Doctor, 
observing this difficulty, proposed to walk on nine miles 
further to the place where we had left the sledge we 
had started with, and where we had deposited another 
tent, to be in readiness for use on our way back. 

Considering how fatigued and benumbed we were at 
the time, this walk was a considerable undertaking. I 
did not doubt my own ability to endure it, but I felt 
very apprehensive that the Doctor, (whose constitution 
was by no means robust,) would be wholly unequal to 
the task. However, there was no alternative, and, 
without pausing to reflect on the troubles before us, we 
betook ourselves resolutely to the journey. The inci- 
dents of this walk of nine miles have been related by 
Dr. Kane in his published journal; and several of them 
are marvelous enough to surprise every reader. Cer- 
tain I am that they surprised me; though I feel well 
12 



134 Godfrey's narrative of the 



assured that the Doctor intended to relate facts. H 
states that the cold made us both delirious. This is 
only half correct ; only one of us, namely, Dr. Kane 
himself, was in that condition. Had we both lost the 
use of our senses, we would most certainly have perished 
on the way. As it was, although I had possession of 
my reason and judgment as perfectly as I have at this 
moment, it required the constant exercise of all my 
faculties to prevent a fatal catastrophe. The Doctor 
speaks of a bear which " walked leisurely before us, and 
tore up a jacket which McGary had thrown off on the out- 
ward journey." " He tore it into shreds and rolled it up 
in a ball," (says the Doctor,) but never offered to inter- 
fere with our progress." Now this story, in itself, is 
improbable. The conduct here ascribed to the polar 
bear is not characteristic of that animal, which would 
be very unlikely to waste his time in playing poodle- 
like tricks with a sailor's jacket. This bear, in fact, 
w^as a creation of the Doctor's fancy. He spoke of it 
at the time when he supposed that he saw it ; but, 
although my eyesight was much better than his, I saw 
nothing of the kind. He talked incoherently during - 
the whole time of our walk, except when he fell into a 
state of utter insensibility. I supported him on my 
arm when he was able to walk ; and when he swooned . 
away, as he did two or three times, I carried him on 
my shoulder. At last, with inconceivable exertion on 
my part, we reached the place where the sledge and 
tent had been left ; and here new diflSculties presented 
themselves. I was obliged to erect the tent, in order 



m 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION 135 

to make it serviceable, and, at the same time, to keep 
the Doctor awake ; for he was so nearly frozen, that 
he was already in that torpid state which immediately 
precedes death. Before I could get a pole set up, I 
was obliged to step aside and give my commander a 
hearty shake with one hand, while I held the tent-pole 
in the other. And so the work of pitching the tent 
proceeded with frequent interruptions, until the job was 
finished. But while this work was in progress, the bear, 
which had been haunting the Doctor's imagination 
during our recent walk, now seemed to be identified 
with my unworthy self; for, in his half-conscious con- 
dition, he several times called on his favorite men, 
Bonsall, Morton, &c., to shoot that bear which was 
"rummaging in the tent." 

When I had succeeded in putting the tent up, I has- 
tened to prepare the Doctor for a safe and comfortable 
nap in his sleeping-bag. Among other preparations 
which I found necessary for this object, was cutting 
away with my jack-knife his beard and woolen tippet, 
which had been frozen together in a solid mass. This 
rough shaving operation must have been painful, but 
it did not arouse him to a full state of consciousness. 
Having chafed his limbs to restore animation, and 
packed him up in furs and blankets, I then — fatigued 
and exhausted as I was — kindled a blubber fire at the 
door of the tent, and began to prepare some coflee and 
" scouse" for my commander's refreshment when he 
should awake. The " land-lubbers" will please to un- 
derstand that scouse is a marine article of diet, com- 



136 GODFREY'S NARRATIYE OF THE 

posed of salted pork and hard biscuit, boiled together 
and reduced to a sort of hash. It is a dish which, for 
want of any thing more suitable, is often prepared for 
invalids on shipboard. 

The Doctor slept heavily for about two hours, when 
he awoke and complained of feeling very unwell. He 
requested me to give him some spirits, and directed me 
where to find it, in a case-bottle among the baggage. 
As the water which I had kept on the fire for the pur- 
pose of making coflfee was now somewhat heated, I gave 
him a stifi" dram of warm "toddy," which appeared to 
do him good, and I now observed, with great pleasure, 
that he had perfectly recovered the use of his senses. 
He soon fell into another profound slumber, from which 
I aroused him when his cofi'ee and '^ scouse" were ready. 

Having thus paid all necessary attentions to my com- 
mander, I laid myself down and slept for about two 
hours. I was then awakened by Dr. Kane, who called 
to me and requested me to go out and see if the others 
of our party were approaching. I looked out accord- 
ingly, but saw nothing of them ; however, as I thought 
that they must soon come, I began to cook something 
for their entertainment when they arrived. I had pre- 
pared a pot of chocolate and some soup when they 
came in sight. Those of our people who were well had 
derived much benefit from their night's repose, and 
when they overtook Dr. Kane and myself they all ap- 
peared quite freshened up and in pretty good spirits. 
The case was very different with our sick companions. 
The tent in which they slept had been much crowded 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 13Y 

during the night, as all of our traveling party, except 
Dr. Kane and I, were packed in it. In consequence 
of the crowding, the interior of the tent became quite 
warm, and this circumstance produced a thaw in the 
frozen limbs of our invalids. Before this change, they 
had not been sensible of pain, but now their agonies 
became very acute, causing them to pass the night in 
torture, and morning brought them no relief. The 
feet and legs of Schubert and Baker soon mortified. 

I reported the arrival of our people to Dr. Kane, who 
arose to give them a welcome. The meal I had pre- 
pared was served out to them, and a proper allowance 
of liquor was given to each man. I will here take no- 
tice of a fact which struck me as very remarkable, and 
which, as I think, has never been mentioned by any 
other arctic traveler. No matter how much a man may 
have been addicted to the use of ardent spirits, he sel- 
dom shows an extravagant appetite for that kind of 
liquid refreshment when he is traveling in those regions 
of the extreme north. There^ (strange as it may ap- 
pear,) cold water is generally preferred before any 
other kind of beverage. It is observable, likewise, that 
the native inhabitants of the polar regions, namely, the 
Esquimaux, show no predilection for alcoholic liquors ; 
and in this respect they differ from all other savages. 
It appears to me that the disposition to reject spirituous 
liquors in those climes is instinctive ; and I argue from 
thence that it is a mistake to suppose that ardent spirits 
are beneficial to a man who is much exposed to an ex- 
cessively cold atmosphere. I always found that I could 
12* 



138 Godfrey's narrative or the 

endure the cold mucli better when I drank nothing but 
water or some other non-stimulating liquid, such as tea 
or chocolate. I have observed, moreover, that the 
drinking of distilled spirits, even in small quantities, 
will often induce or aggravate those fits of insanity to 
which arctic travelers are liable. The small ration of 
liquor which was dealt out to our people on the occasion 
to which I now have reference, made them behave in a 
frantic manner, and indulge themselves in a wild jollity, 
which, considering the situation of our sick comrades, 
was certainly ill-timed as well as extravagant. 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 139 



CHAPTER XV. 

RETURN OF THE RESCUE PARTY — OUR GREAT DANGER 
AND PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCE — THE WHOLE COM- 
PANY BECOME DELIRIOUS — STRANGE PHASES OF IN- 
SANITY — THE author's FEELINGS OF DESPERATION — 
TERRIBLE SUFFERINGS OF HIS HALF-FROZEN COMPAN- 
IONS — ARRIVAL AT THE BRIG— DEATH AND BURIAL OF 
SCHUBERT AND BAKER— WE ARE VISITED BY SAVAGE 
ESQUIMAUX — HANS CHRISTIAN'S ROMANTIC LOVE AF- 
FAIR. 

While our comrades were following after Dr. Kane 
and myself, they were much puzzled by the occasional 
appearance of only one man's tracks in the snow. They 
wondered if the Doctor and I had been amusing our- 
selves by trying an experiment which is common among 
the North American Indians, who, in order to conceal 
their numbers from their pursuing enemies, walk in 
single file, each one treading in his predecessor's foot- 
steps. Our people stated that they sometimes found 
but one pair of tracks for two or three miles together ; 
and this account surprised me, for I really was not 
aware that I had carried the Doctor so far " at a 
stretch." Dr. Kane, in his published journal, while 



140 Godfrey's narrative of the 

alluding to my services on this occasion, says : '^ God- 
frey, with whom the memory of this day's work may 
atone for many faults of a later time, had a better eye 
than myself," &c. Had the Doctor's extreme modesty 
allowed him to place a proper estimate on the value of 
his own life, he might have thought, perhaps, that the 
assistance I then rendered him deserved a more hand- 
some acknowledgment. As for " the many faults of a 
later time" to which he refers, I shall come to the con- 
fessional in this volume, and the reader shall know the 
full extent of my guilt. Then, it may be, when I have 
expressed all the penitence which the case may seem 
to require, the public will give me absolution, though 
my commander himself would have devoted me to capi- 
tal punishment ! 

After we had refreshed ourselves with food and rest, 
we started for the brig, from which, according to our 
calculation, we were now about twenty-five miles. It 
is impossible to give the reader any description of the 
horrors of this part of our journey. The route was so 
toilsome, on account of the roughness of the ice, that 
the greatest speed we could make was less than a mile 
and a half per hour. The labor of hauling the sledge, 
laden with five invalids and the baggage, tents, &c., 
wearied the men out ; they were obliged to make fre- 
quent halts, being so overcome with fatigue that they 
fell on the ice, panting for breath and totally exhausted. 
In the mean time, the shrieks and groans of our sick 
people, who endured the most excruciating torments, 
harassed our minds and distressed us infinitely more 



GRINNELL EXPLORINa EXPEDITION. 141 

than our own toils and corporeal sufferings. On this 
occasion I believe our whole company — myself included 
— were seized with frenzy. I know that all my com- 
panions were frantic, for they laughed immoderately, 
gibbered, uttered the most frightful imprecations, 
mimicked the screams and groans of the invalids, 
howled like wild beasts, and, in short, exhibited a scene 
of insane fury which I have never seen equaled in any 
lunatic asylum. After the lapse of a few minutes the 
frightful hubbub would suddenly cease ; the raving ma- 
niacs were changed to sullen and moping idiots, weep- 
ing and blubbering like children ; and in this condition 
all would move on mechanically for perhaps half a mile, 
when, as if all were actuated by one disorderly spirit, 
another outburst would take place, and the former scene 
of maniacal fury was re-enacted. If I was as mad as 
the others, my madness was of the melancholy order. 
Never before or since have I felt such a strong in- 
clination to commit suicide. I looked about anxiously 
for some chasm in the ice into which I could throw 
myself, and so put an end to my intolerable misery, 
the precise nature of which I could not discern, but 
which seemed to be altogether disconnected from bodily 
suffering. I was not conscious of any corporeal pain, 
but there was an anguish of the mind, or of the soul, 
which I will not pretend to describe. 

It is indeed a most wonderful circumstance that such 
a troop of madmen (not one of whom was sane enough 
to conduct the others,) could find their way to the brig. 
Yet it is evident that we must have taken the straight- 



142 Godfrey's narrative op the 

est course ; and we could not have made the journey in 
less time, probably, if we had been guided and con- 
troled by the soundest reason and judgment. Never- 
theless, we consumed more than fourteen hours in trav- 
eling the last twenty miles. During this walk, brandy 
was occasionally administered to the men in very small 
doses, each one receiving not more than a tablespoon- 
ful at a time. But although this stimulus was used 
very cautiously, I believe it did much more harm than 
good ; and I attribute to this very cause a good deal of 
the frenzy which prevailed among our party. 

When we came within eight or ten miles of the brig, 
some of us partially recovered our rationality. Dr. 
Kane was then self-possessed enough to order Bonsall 
to hasten forward to carry to Dr. Hayes the intelli- 
gence of our approach, and to bring a dog-sledge, with 
some bottles of hot water and other articles for the use 
of the sick. Bonsall had become sane enough to ex- 
ecute this order in a businesslike manner ; and so 
promptly did he perform his task, that when we had 
proceeded at our very slow pace three miles further, 
and rested for about an hour, he met us with the arti- 
cles required. Having no load to carry, he traversed 
the route quickly, and the dog-team brought him back 
with the celerity of lightning. As soon as the dog- 
sledge arrived, Dr. Kane entered it, and telling us that 
he was going to make preparations for the reception 
of the sick, he set off at full speed, and so reached the 
brig at least two hours sooner than we did. We all ar- 
rived at last, after an absence of three days and nights, 



URINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 



143 



according to the mode of computing time in the tem- 
perate latitudes. The average temperature during the 
whole of this time was about 40° below zero. 

Soon after our arrival a consultation over our sick 
men was held by Doctors Kane and Hayes. They 
ascertained that the condition of Schubeift and Baker 
was nearly hopeless. Both of these persons died soon 
after their return, and were buried on one of the islands 




BURIAL-PLACE OP SCHUBERT AND BAKER. 



adjacent to our winter harbor. Schubert was a French- 
man ; he had shipped on board of the Advance as 
cook; but, to his credit be it said, he was always 
willing to perform any duties which the exigencies of 



144 Godfrey's napirative of the 

the service required. Baker was a native of Pennsyl- 
vania. These two unhonored victims of the exploring 
mania were buried side by side, according to the Es- 
quimaux style of sepulture, the bodies being deposited 
above grc^nd, and covered with arches of stones, ce- 
mented togerher by pouring water over them, the fluid 
immediately becoming solidified by the cold. The 
other persons who were frozen, will probably be crip- 
pled for life, as some parts of their feet were amputated, 
as the only means of preserving their lives. 

A day or two after our return, we had a visit from a 
party of Esquimaux savages, who resided at a village 
or settlement about ninety miles from our harbor. 
These curious people came in dog-sledges, and brought 
with them a quantity of fresh meat, the flesh of seals 
and walruses, which they wished to exchange for knives, 
needles, beads, copper jewelry, and other knick-knacks. 
We were much amused by the jovial and eccentric be- 
havior of these savages, and they were no less delighted 
with our company, testifying their pleasure by dancing 
around us and screaming, *' Cab-lumaik !" — (white 
men.) They showed a disposition to steal every porta- 
ble article that came in their way ; if detected in the 
act, they would pass it ofi" as a joke, never showing any 
signs of shame or anger when the stolen article was 
taken from them. 

Among these visitors was an Esquimaux named 
Novatong, who had formerly lived at the Danish settle- 
ment called Proven, on the south-western coast of 
Greenland. While residing at that place he had es- 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 145 

poused a Danish woman, by whom he had two daughters, 
who were far superior in personal appearance to the 
females of the unmixed Esquimaux bread. The father 
of these girls, the aforesaid Novatong, had tried civi- 
lization for awhile, and did not like it ; he thpiefore re- 
lapsed into the barbarism of his ancestors, and took up 
his residence among the savage tribe in whose society 
we found him. To the settlement in which this renegade 
lived, Hans Christian, (Dr. Kane's Esquimaux pet,) was 
several times sent to negotiate for provisions. On his 
very first visit he had the misfortune to be victimized 
by the killing charms of Miss Choolakee, (I think that 
was her name,) Novatong's youngest and fairest 
daughter. This young lady, in spite of her hideous 
Esquimaux dress, which would have marred the ap- 
pearance of the brightest angel in Paradise, was really 
a fascinating object ; and I, having had similar expe- 
riences of my own, was prepared to excuse Hans for 
being completely carried away by the impetuosity of 
his passion. Indeed it appeared to me to be a very 
admirable thing for so much amatory heat to be ex- 
hibited in that icy region, lying beyond the 78th parallel 
of North latitude. Hans entrusted me with the secret 
of his love, and declared his intention to elope from the 
brig at the first opportunity, thus forfeiting all his 
chances of naval preferment, in order to become the 
happy husband of the irresistible Choolakee. I neither 
commended his resolution nor attempted to dissuade 
him from it, but promised to keep his secret ; and, to 
do this more effectually, it was agreed that there should 
13 



146 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE 

appear to be some animosity between us. This part 
of our plan was so well carried out, that Dr. Kane 
appears to have become apprehensive that I would do 
Hans some personal injury. I think the Doctor hints, 
somewhSre in his book, that he was afraid that I would 
waylay the young man and assassinate him, or commit 
some other horrible outrage. Thus it seems to have 
been my peculiar ilMuck to be constantly misconstrued 
by my captain. The termination of Hans Christian's 
love adventure will be related in the sequel, as it has a 
circumstantial connection with my narrative. 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 14^ 



CHAPTER XVI. 

DR. HAYES AND THE AUTHOR CROSS SMITH'S SOUND — 
TROUBLES AND DISASTERS — SUCCESSFUL EXPLORATIONS 
— HORRORS OF STARVATION — THE AUTHOR'S BOOTS 
AND BREECHES USED FOR FEEDING DOGS — HARD FARE 
— THE GRAND EXCURSION OF THE SEASON — SICKNESS 
PREVAILS — DANGEROUS ILLNESS OF DR. KANE — BEARS 
STEAL OUR PROVISIONS — OUR DESPERATE CONDITION 
— WE ARE OBLIGED TO TURN BACK — VARIOUS AFFLIC- 
TIONS. 

The greater number of our men were disabled by the 
late disastrous exploring experiments. Dr. Hayes and 
I were almost the only persons on board of the Advance^ 
who, at this time, (about the middle of May,) enjoyed 
perfectly good health. Dr. Kane wished to send an 
expedition across the Sound to examine the coast north- 
ward of Cape Sabine. This attempt had been made 
several times without success, owing to various accidents 
or want of energy on the part of those who undertook 
the task. Dr. Hayes and I, finding ourselves in very 
good health as aforesaid, cheerfully agreed to make 
another effort to carry out this project, the chief pur- 
pose of which was to determine the position jof the Cape, 



148 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE 

and its bearings with reference to the newly discovered 
coast-line to the North and East. We had a dog-team 
well trained, and a good strong sledge ; and being fur- 
nished with necessary provisions and equipments, we 
commenced our journey on the 20th day of May. The 
passage across Smith's Sound was extremely difficult, 
almost every yard of the way presenting some formida- 
ble obstruction, such as I have heretofore spoken of in 
my accounts of similar expeditions, but we succeeded 
at last in accomplishing our object. The distance in 
a straight line, across the Sound, is not more than 
eighty miles ; but we extended our researches for two 
hundred miles along the coast, and thus made an im- 
portant addition to the chart of that locality. Two 
days after we started. Dr. Hayes was seized with snow- 
blindness and required considerable nursing and attend- 
ance. Our supply of provisions was calculated to serve 
us but for ten days ; this circumstance and the illness of 
Dr. Hayes necessarily abbreviated our journey, very 
much to my regret, as I felt a strong inclination to go 
further. Many of our failures in these traveling ad- 
ventures were owing to a deficiency of supplies, or to 
some error or oversight in making preparations for the 
journeys. I have very little doubt that, if our outfit 
had been more complete, I could have gone beyond the 
82d parallel (how much further I will not say,) on the 
occasion to which I now refer. We exhausted seven 
days' provisions before we commenced our return, leaving 
not half enough for our backward trip. The harness of 
our dogs was very defective, the straps breaking con- 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 149 

tinually and thus occasioning much trouble and delay. 
Besides, one of our dogs had the vexatious trick of 
eating his own harness. In fact, the animals were in a 
starving condition during the latter part of the journey. 
When our stock of provisions failed, necessity compel- 
ed me to cut up my seal-skin boots and a portion of 
my leather trousers also, for the maintenance of the 
dogs. Having thus denuded my lower extremities in a 
measure, the exposure occasioned severe pains in my 
limbs, (rheumatic pains, perhaps,) and this was the only 
sickness I experienced during the whole time of my 
sojournment in the polar regions. On our way back to 
the brig, I wore nothing on my legs but the scanty 
remains of my dog-eaten trowsers and a pair of seal- 
skin stockings. But all this sacrifice of my wearing 
apparel afi'orded little relief to the ever-craving appe- 
tites of our quadrupeds. On our way back, they were 
so desperately hungry that I suspect they would have 
devoured Dr. Hayes and myself, if the thought had 
once occurred to them that we might be used as articles 
of diet. My traveling companion and I were almost 
as hungry as our dogs. We lived for two days on a 
cake of raw chocolate ; and when this was consumed, 
we made one meal oflF the tops of Dr. Hayes' boots, 
which we cut into small pieces and dipped in lamp oil 
to render the morsels more savory. A few hours after 
we had made this luxurious repast we arrived at the 
brig, from which we had been absent twelve days. 

I made two or three other excursions, (shorter ones 
than that just mentioned,) with various members of our 



150 Godfrey's narrative of the 

company. McGary and I started with a dog-sledge 
and team, to ascertain if our provision depots were all 
safe. We encountered a heavy snow-storm, which 
blinded us, and compelled us to return before we could 
execute the duty assigned to us. Snow-blindness is 
one of the great inconveniences to which arctic travel- 
ers are exposed. Besides the total deprivation of sight, 
which is always one effect of the disease, it is extremely 
painful, producing a sensation like that which might be 
caused by piercing the eye-balls with needles or lancets. 
The traveler who is affected with this malady becomes 
as helpless as any other blind man, and requires a 
leader. McGary and I, being both stricken at once, 
and having nobody to guide us, were obliged to trust 
to the instinct of the dogs to conduct us back to the 
vessel. Our canine conductors, finding themselves 
abandoned to their own discretion, and perceiving that 
we were not able to correct their errors, followed their 
own inclination in returning. When nothing allured 
them out of the way, they went on steadily enough ; 
but, being at all times more intent on indulging their 
appetites than any thing else, they often went aside for 
the purpose of hunting seals. These amphibious ani- 
mals often appear on the surface of the ice, but always 
near some hole, into which they retreat as soon as 
danger approaches. The dogs can scent the seals at 
the distance of half a mile, and, if they are not restrained, 
they immediately start off in pursuit of their prey, the 
sledge which they are dragging after them and their 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION, 



151 



driver, appearing, at such times, to be altogether for- 
gotten. 




DOG-TEAM — DRIVER SNOW-BLINDED, 



The seals, vrhich are always very much on the alert, 
generally plunge into the hole in the ice, and so make 
their escape, but sometimes the dogs come upon them 
so suddenly that one of them is caught and torn to 
pieces by the voracious quadrupeds. Occasionally a 
dog bites a piece out of a seal just as the latter is 
making his plunge. 

Soon after the return of McGary and myself, another 
party, consisting of McGary, Hickey, Riley, Stephen- 
son, and Morton started on a northern excursion, with 



152 



GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE 



a load of provisions, which they were instructed to de- 
posit at some convenient place, for future use. On the 
following day, viz. April 25th, Dr. Kane and I fitted 
up a dog-sledge and started on the same track. We 
overtook our comrades on the open ice, near Cape 
Frederick, sixty-five miles from the brig. Several of 
the party had been stricken with snow-blindness. While 




A BEAR VISITS A TENT 



they were sleeping in their tent on the preceding night, 
a bear forced his way into the tent door, and startled 
the sleepers by rubbing his nose against their persons. 
Hickey struck him on the nose with a boat-hook, and 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 153 

Bonsall snatched up a rifle and shot him dead on the 
spot. They had all made themselves sick by eating 
the flesh of this animal, which appears to have been too 
gross for their delicate organs of digestion. 

Dr. Kane's principal purpose, on this occasion, was 
to inspect the great Humboldt Glacier ; and, if possible, 
to reach the extreme northern point of Greenland, sup- 
posing this region to be an island. He set out, in short, 
with a determination to find an open sea to the north 
of the Greenland coast ; and as he did not quite accom- 
plish this object at that time, his devoted friend, Mr. 
Morton, afterward did it for him, unless we may sup- 
pose it possible that Mr. Morton was mistaken. This 
journey, like every preceding one, was a failure. We 
came within five miles of the Humboldt Glacier, when 
nearly all of our men, and Dr. Kane himselfy'became 
infected with the scurvy, the disease being accompanied 
by unusual and alarming symptoms. It was a prevail- 
ing opinion among us that the Doctor would not live 
long enough to get back to his vessel. To make our 
situation still more distressing, the bears had made an 
inroad on our provision depots, several of which were 
pretty well cleared out by these conscienceless ma- 
rauders. In this state of things, our best policy was 
to return with all the expedition that was possible for 
such a sickly company as ours. On the way back, our 
sledges were moving hospitals, being laden with sick 
people ; and several of our sick men were obliged to 
walk, because there was not room enough for their ac- 
commodation in the vehicles. We had dogs enough to 



154 Godfrey's narratiye op the 

haul one sledge only ; a team of men was therefore re- 
quired to drag the other. My companions regarded me 
as "a whole team;" but, besides having a dog's duty 
to perform, I was compelled to nurse the sick, cook the 
victuals, and make myself generally useful, " because I 
was the healthiest man of the party." Health is a 
great blessing truly, but it sometimes has its disad- 
vantages. 



« \ 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 155 



CHAPTER XVII. 

SEVERAL TRAVELING PARTIES SENT OUT — THEIR ILL 
SUCCESS — MORTON AND HANS CHRISTIAN TRAVEL 
NORTHWARD — THEIR EAMOUS DISCOVERIES — A SEPA- 
RATION OF OUR COMPANY — THE AUTHOR, WITH SEVEN 
COMPANIONS, PERMITTED TO LEAVE THE BRIG — THEY 
TRAVEL SOUTHWARD — ARE OVERTAKEN BY THE WIN- 
TER — THEIR UNPARALLELED SUFFERINGS FROM COLD 
AND FAMINE — THE AUTHOR VISITS AN ESQUIMAUX 
SETTLEMENT — THE GENEROSITY AND BENEVOLENCE OF 
THESE " BARBARIANS" — THEIR HOUSES, MODES OF 
LIVING, &C. 

For about two weeks after our unsuccessful attempt 
to reach the Humboldt Glacier, the serious illness of 
Dr. Kane prevented him from undertaking any new 
enterprise. As soon as he was well enough to travel, 
he made two unsuccessful attempts to cross the Sound 
with Esquimaux guides. 

Early in June two traveling parties were sent out. 
One of these parties, under the direction of McGarry 
and Bonsall, came to the foot of the Humboldt Glacier, 
which is a perpendicular wall of ice, 250 feet high and 
60 miles long. Finding it impossible to scale this stu- 



156 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE 

pendous embankment, or to proceed any further, they 
returned to the brig. The other traveling party con- 
sisted of two persons only, viz., Mr. Morton and Hans 
Christian. They reached the foot of the glacier on the 
15th day of June, and traveled in their dog-sledge on 
the land-ice of the Sound, crossing Peabody's Bay, and 
so found a practicable road along the base of the vast 
wall of ice spoken of above. They proceeded, accord- 
ing to Morton's statement, in a direction as nearly 
northward as possible, passing along the edge of Ken- 
neday Channel, which extends from the 80th to the 
81st parallel. Here, as they report, the ice was found 
broken up and the water in a navigable condition. 
They also saw "flocks of geese, ducks, and dovekies," 
and gulls probably ; and Mr. Morton — having ascended 
a berg or knob of ice five hundred feet high — beheld 
" a boundless waste of water, stretching away toward 
the pole.'' 

If this account given by Morton is correct, it is 
probable that the pole is covered by water. In that 
case it might be difficult for a navigator to put his foot 
on the " earth's pivot," according to the earnest desire 
of Captain Ross, unless the adventurer should happen 
to have more faith than St. Peter, and be able to walk 
on the surface of the sea. I sincerely hope that, for 
the benefit of future explorers, there may be some bet- 
ter means of access to this "open polar sea" than by 
the way of Smith's Sound ; otherwise no vessel of con- 
siderable size will ever be able to reach it. 

As the summer drew near its close, it became evident 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 151 

that the American brig Advance was one of the perma- 
nent fixtures or "institutions'' of the ice-regions. All 
hope of moving her had been pretty nearly abandoned, 
and we began to contemplate the sad necessity of re- 
maining another winter in this gloomy clime. Among 
other troubles in prospect was a scarcity of provisions. 
In order to increase our supplies of eatables, Hans, 
Petersen, and I were almost constantly engaged in 
hunting. We caught or shot a number of white rab- 
bits, foxes of both varieties, white and blue, and a few 
seals. The flesh of these animals, by being allowed to 
freeze, was easily preserved for future use. 

About the latter part of August all hands were sum- 
moned on deck, and Dr. Kane, in a formal speech, an- 
nounced that such of the men as wished to leave the 
brig for the purpose of traveling homeward, had full 
permission to do so. I perceived that the apprehended 
scarcity of provisions led to this generous offer. As 1 
had never enjoyed much comfort, or experienced much 
kindness, on board of the Advance^ I was one of the 
first to embrace this opportunity to depart. A majority 
of the brig's company, viz., Sonntag, Dr. Hayes, Pe- 
tersen, Bonsall, Blake, Riley, Whipple, and Stevenson, 
came to the same conclusion. Our withdrawal left but 
eight persons on board. 

Dr. Kane furnished us with a boat placed on sledge- 
runners, and some few cooking utensils and other arti- 
cles which could be spared from the brig. We bade 
our comrades who stayed behind an afi'ectionate adieu, 
and started on the 28th of August — rather too late in 
14 



158 Godfrey's narrative of the 

the season for such an undertaking. Our purpose was 
to proceed by boat or sledge conveyance, as we best 
could, to TJpernavick, the most northern Danish settle- 
ment, from whence we expected to find a passage in 
some vessel to our own country. We traveled south- 
ward on the ice some three hundred and fifty miles, 
when the severity of the weather compelled us to go on 
shore and build ourselves a hut. This habitation was 
made of stones, in the Esquimaux style of architecture. 
We covered it, according to our best ability, with oars 
and sails ; nevertheless, it was a rather airy place of 
residence. We were entirely destitute of provisions, 
and were obliged to gather the lichen or rock-moss and 
boil it for our maintenance, although the taste of the 
herb is extremely nauseating, and its nature is decidedly 
unwholesome. We hunted every day, but could find 
no game. Meanwhile, the dark season was coming on 
very rapidly, and our situation became exceedingly pre- 
carious. I constructed several fox-traps, and although 
foxes were very scarce in this neighborhood we had the 
good fortune to catch two of them. As all of our ship 
biscuit had been consumed, we had nothing of the bread 
kind to eat with our fox-meat. In other circumstances, 
we might have thought the taste of this meat unpleasant, 
as it has somewhat of a fishy flavor, but long abstinence 
enabled us to eat it with a good relish. We called our 
hut the "Wanderers' Home," and we made a strong 
effort to feel comfortable and contented in our domestic 
establishment, designing to spend the winter there, if 
possible, and to pursue our journey early in the spring. 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 159 

The average temperature was 50° below zero ; a greater 
degree of cold than we had ever experienced in the 
more northern latitude where the brig was harbored. 

When we had been about a week in this pleasant 
location, we were visited by a party of Esquimaux, who 
were migrating to Cape York, having been starved 
out of their former place of residence, about fifty miles 
further to the North. Although we ourselves were 
rather " hard up" for something to eat, we gave these 
poor wanderers a morsel of food, without any expecta- 
tion that they would ever have it in their power to re- 
ciprocate our kindness. But a good deed, even in this 
*' naughty world/' often meets with its reward in a most 
unexpected manner. Several days after, the same 
party, with some other Esquimaux, men, women and 
children, making altogether eighteen persons, called 
on us again, having a good stock of provisions, which 
they oflfered to sell us at our own valuation. The com- 
modities which they wished to dispose of consisted of 
seal and walrus meat, eider-ducks, loons, and other 
water-fowls. 

Before we began to trade, we had a grand entertain- 
ment, our Esquimaux gue3ts supplying the viands and 
we cooking them. It was neither " a feast of reason" 
nor '' a flow of soul," for we all ate in the most unrea- 
sonable manner, and thought of nothing but the gratifi- 
cation of our corporal appetites. As a specimen of the 
way in which we used up the eatables at this banquet, 
I will mention that I myself consumed two eider-ducks, 
each of which was larger than any wild duck ever seen 



160 Godfrey's narratiye of the 

in the United States. Dr. Kane, when we were about 
to separate ourselves from his company^ had supplied 
us with some beads, needles, and other trifling articles, 
suitable for trading with the natives ; and this was sup- 
posed to be our main resource for supplying ourselves 
w^th provisions. On the morning after the arrival of 
our native guests, we applied ourselves to business and 
obtained a good stock of food and other necessaries on 
very easy terms. I '* swapped" an old jack-knife with 
one of the Esquimaux gentlemen for a pair of excellent 
bear-skin boots, each of us believing that we had got 
the best of the bargain. A string of small beads, worth 
about two cents in the United States, was considered 
as a fair price for a pair of eider-ducks or a good 
large lump of walrus-meat. When our visitors were 
about to depart, after we had traded to our mutual sat- 
isfaction, they invited me to accompany them to their 
settlement. I did so with a great deal of pleasure, as 
I wished to examine their modes of life ; however, 
having some speculation in my eyes, I took with me 
some large sewing needles, several articles of cheap 
jewelry, some beads, &c., which I designed to barter 
with the inhabitants of the settlement for articles of 
food and clothing. Our Esquimaux friends traveled in 
dog-sledges, six of which they had with them and a 
team of four dogs to each sled. One of the company, 
named Colootna, offered me a seat in his vehicle, and we 
set out in very high spirits, although the thermometer 
was 48° below zero. The settlement was sixty miles 
from our hut, and w^e reached it in about eighteen 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 161 

liours. On the way, we gave chase to a bear, who kept 
us in pursuit of him for six hours, and then escaped by 
a very ^'cute trick," diving under an ice floe and ap- 
pearing on the other side, entirely beyond our reach. 
He looked back at us, as I imagined, with a comical ex- 
pression of countenance, as if he would have said, " You 
couldn't come it that time, my boys." He was a fine 
fat old fellow and promised to afford some capital eating. 
His escape was a source of bitter disappointment to my 
Esquimaux companions, and some of the women and 
children of the party cried very heartily when the bear 
gave us the slip. 

When we arrived at the settlement, the " barbarous 
people showed me not a little kindness," treating me 
in the most generous and hospitable manner. I re- 
mained with them for two or three days, in order to 
cultivate their acquaintance and open the way for a 
regular trade, which might be the means of supplying 
our party with food during the winter. The habita- 
tions of the Esquimaux savages are of a very singular 
construction. They are of a circular shape with round 
dome-like tops ; the diameter of the building never ex- 
ceeding eight or ten feet. The height of the dome, in 
the centre, is about equal to the diameter of the hut. 
The entrance consists of a low arched- way, two feet high 
and six feet in length. The opening of this archway 
is just large enough for a man to creep through on his 
hands and. knees, and every one who enters must do so 
in this humiliating manner. Around the interior of the 
hut, half way between the floor and the ceiling, there 
14* 



162 GODFREYS NARRATIVE OF THE 

is a gallery made of stone, like all the other parts of 
the building — leaving in the centre of the hut an area 
not more than three feet in diameter. The occupants 
of the dwelling live and sleep in the gallery, where their 
bedding, consisting of moss and skins, is disposed. The 
cooking is done by a lamp, rudely constructed of stone, 
which stands on the edge of the platform or gallery 
whereon the family sit when they are awake and lie 
when they are asleep. The cooking lamp is fed with 
the blubber of the seal or walrus. 

As the hut is made almost air-tight, having no aper- 
ture except the little door, partially guarded from the 
cold external atmosphere by the long arch-way described 
above, the interior of the dwelling is quite warm. 
The heat of the cooking-lamp, vrhich is kept always 
burnino;, toojether with the breath and vital heat of the 
occupants, is sufficient to make the apartment comfort- 
able ; and indeed too warm for persons who are not 
accustomed to the Esquimaux modes of living. 

When I had made all the purchases I desired, and 
signified my wish to return to my companions, my 
friend Colootna conveyed me home in his dog-sledge. 
My comrades were glad to see me, and (as I suspect,) 
were still better pleased to see the additional stock of 
provisions I had brought with me. Some of them 
were in very bad health, and all were, more or less, 
afflicted with the blue devils. They suffered consider- 
ably from the cold likewise, for our house was not as 
comfortable as the dwellings of the Esquimaux. My 
companions were very much divided in opinion respect- 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 163 

mg the proper course to be pursued. Some were for 
remaining where we were until Spring, and then pro- 
ceeding on our way to Upernavick ; some wished to pass 
the winter at the neighboring Esquimaux settlement ; 
and some were desirous of returning immediately to the 
brig. The last-mentioned expedient was less accepta- 
ble to me then either of the others. I considered that 
we had, to all intents and purposes, been dismissed from 
our vessel, because our Commander thought that his 
family was larger than he could well maintain ; and as 
we had received our portions, like so many prodigal 
sons, and been set adrift, I preferred living on husks 
or moss, or any thing else, to going back with expres- 
sions of contrition and making a pitiful appeal to the 
benevolence of Dr. Kane. 

A few weeks had passed away, and we had not yet 
resolved what to do. Our stock of provisions had 
nearly run out. Se.veral of our men were sick, and 
nearly all were haunted by gloomy anticipations. Karl 
Petersen and I had some energy and resolution left, and 
we had health and strength enough to attempt something 
for the relief of our companions. We walked to the Esqui- 
maux village, sixty miles over the ice, the thermometer 
fifty degrees below zero. Incessant exercise was necessa- 
ry to keep us from frezing. We could not stop a moment 
for rest or refreshment, and we could not sleep on the way 
as we had no tent or bedding. We finished the journey 
in eighteen hours, traveling without intermision ; and 
this was extraordinary speed, considering our benumbed 



164 Godfrey's narrative of the 

condition and the disabling effect of spare diet. Our 
only food on the way consisted of a little dried walrus- 
meat, on which we breakfasted, dined and supped, as 
we walked. When we arrived at the settlement, we 
staggered like drunkards, being completely unnerved 
by fatigue and exhaustion. 

After all our labor we were doomed to meet with a 
great disappointment. The inhabitants of the settle- 
ment, according to the usual improvident habits of the 
Esquimaux, had exhausted nearly all their provisions 
by continual feasting, and they were now almost as 
badly provided with food as we ourselves were. The 
young men of the village were absent on a seal and 
walrus-hunting expedition ; and as they had been away 
longer than usual, it was thought that they had met 
with but little success. Nevertheless, the benevolent 
savages took pity on our wretched condition, and spared 
us a little food from their scanty stores. As the prin- 
cipal men of the village were absent with their dog- 
sledges, we could obtain no conveyance back to our 
home, and were obliged to return on foot with the little 
meat we had obtained, after resting ourselves for a few 
hours. We made as little delay as possible, for those 
of our company who remained at the hut were suffering 
for want of victuals. We carried the small stock of 
walrus-meat we had obtained from the Esquimaux, 
strapped on our backs. The load was not very op- 
pressive, it is true, but it added somewhat to the weari- 
someness of our journey. When about half-way to our 



GRINSTELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 165 

dwelling-place, I was unlucky enough to sprain my 
ankle while attempting to leap over a chasm in the ice 
ten feet wide. This accident added very much to my 
sufferings during the remainder of our walk ; and my 
lameness was the cause of considerable delay, prolong 
ing the journey to twenty-five hours. 



166 Godfrey's narrative of the 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

THE AUTHOR AND HIS PARTY ENDURE ALL THE HORRORS 
OF FAMINE — THEY RESOLVE TO RETURN TO THE BRIG 
— THE author's reluctance TO GO BACK — HE COM- 
PLIES WITH THE WISHES OF THE MAJORITY — ANOTHER 
TROUBLESOME JOURNEY — THE ESQUIMAUX TRY TO 
OUT-YANKEE THE YANKEES — THEY MISS THEIR FIGURE 
— VIRTUES OF ''GODFREY'S CORDIAL" — THE AUTHOR'S 
SUCCESSFUL STRATAGEM. 

The last supply of provisions obtained by Petersen 
and I was consumed within two or three days, except 
about fifteen pounds of walrus-meat, which, although 
frozen, was in an advanced stage of putrefaction. The 
mention of this circumstance may surprise the reader ; 
but while I remained in the polar regions, I had fre- 
quent proofs of the fact, that extreme cold is sometimes 
almost as conducive as extreme heat to the decomposi- 
tion of animal matter. On this meat, oifensive as it 
was, we were obliged to subsist for two days. At the 
end of that time an Esquimaux hunter stopped at our 
hut with his dog-sledge. As there was no hope of re- 
lief from any other quarter, my companions wished to 
engage this Esquimaux to convey one or two of our 
company to the brig, to solicit Dr. Kane for a barrel 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 167 

of ship-biscuit, or something else which might be the 
means of sustaining our lives. Petersen and I were 
requested to go on this mission ; but I informed my 
fellow-sufferers that I could not on any account become 
a petitioner to Dr. Kane.. I had reason to think that 
he was prejudiced against me, and I should prefer 
starving in that icy wilderness to becoming a pensioner 
on his bounty. I told them that I was willing to un- 
dertake any other journey, or to attempt any thing 
else for their relief, even if the attempt required the 
sacrifice of my own life, but they niust find some other 
messenger to perform the errand they now had in con- 
templation. After some debate, it was determined that 
Bonsall and Petersen should be the begging embassa- 
dors to Dr. Kane. The Esquimaux, who undertook to 
carry them in his sledge, was promised a reward on his 
arrival at the vessel. I learned afterward that the 
strength of the dog-team proved inadequate to the con- 
veyance of the three men ; and at the end of the first 
eighty miles the animals were completely worn out, so 
that a sort of " rotation in office'" became necessary, 
the dogs being placed in the sledge while the men 
hauled it. 

In this unusual style of traveling they proceeded 
fifty miles further, when they fell in with a large party 
of Esquimaux hunters, and after some conversation it 
was agreed that they should all go to the brig together. 
The hunters had sledge-room enough to accommodate 
the whole party, and so our messengers sped much bet- 
ter than they had expected. Bonsall and Petersen did 



1G8 GOT^niEY'S XARllATlYE OF THE 

not return ; but as soon as they gave Dr. Kane an ac- 
count of our starving condition, that gentleman very 
promptly dispatched some provisions for us by the Es- 
quimaux hunters, detaining one of their number as a 
"' hostage" for the safe delivery of the articles. 

In the meanwhile, I had been making all possible 
exertions to obtain food by hunting, trapping, &c., in 
which operations my remaining companions were too 
sickly or feeble to give me any assistance. Four or 
five days after the departure of the messengers, my 
comrades informed me that they themselves had come 
to the determination to go to the brig, and earnestly 
entreated me to accompany them. I consented, be- 
cause I saw very plainly that they were not able to 
take care of themselves. After making all the prepa- 
ration that was necessary we started ; and, oh reader, 
how shall I give you the faintest idea of the tribulation 
I experienced on the way ! When I had performed the 
part of dry-nurse for ten or twelve hours, and was 
almost distracted by the multiplicity of my cares and 
duties, we met the Esquimaux hunters who had been 
sent from the vessel with some provisions for our use. 
They had five sledges, with teams of six dogs each. 
Both parties came to a halt ; and after the usual salu- 
tations, arrangements were made for cooking a meal. 
The Doctor had sent us some biscuit and salt pork, and 
we soon had a good kettle of "scouse" in the course 
of preparation. In the meanwhile, we tampered with 
our craving appetites by nibbling dry biscuit. As soon 
as the repast was finished, the Esquimaux divided our 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 169 

company, consisting of six persons, into five lots, so 
that four of the sleds should carry one man each, and 
the fifth one two. As soon as we were all on board, 
we went oflF in gallant style, and put sixty miles behind 
us in the first ten hours. At the end of that time we 
halted, pitched our tents, and enjoyed a most refresh- 
ing sleep, as the gnawings of conscience or hunger did 
not interrupt our repose. 

The next day our Esquimaux drivers held a consulta- 
tion apart, and appeared to be debating some subject 
of importance, in their own estimation at least. The 
conference being over, they approached us and gave us 
to understand that four of them, with the same number 
of sledges, would be obliged to visit the place of their 
abode on business of great consequence. Two of their 
men and one sledge would remain with us, until the 
other members of their party should return. They 
would also leave us a tent and every thing necessary 
for our comfort. Though very much vexed at this de- 
tention, we felt that we had no right to object to the 
proposed plans, as these people were certainly pri- 
vileged to attend to their own affairs before ours. 
Soon after, four of the hunters drove off in a different 
direction from that we had lately been traveling. They 
had scarcely been gone an hour, before the two remain- 
ing Esquimaux announced that it had just come to 
their recollection that they would be obliged to go too ; 
and they began to hitch up the last dog-team for that 
purpose. I new became suspicious of a trick, and re- 
solved that these fellows should not out-jockey me. 
15 



no Godfrey's narrative of thb 

Happening to have a small book of *' Ethiopian Melo- 
dies" in my pocket, I took it out and examined a page 
with the most earnest attention ; then, putting on a 
very gloomy aspect, I informed the two hunters that 
they had chosen the most unlucky day in the whole 
year for this new journey, " After we have slept once 
more," said I, " the danger will be over, and you can 
then start as soon as you please, without any fear of 
the consequences." Finding that I had made some 
impression on their superstitious feelings, I endeavored 
to touch them on another assailable point, by promising 
them a capital supper. The gluttonous proclivities of 
the Esquimaux made this last argument a clincher. 
Our two gentlemen were persuaded to pass the night 
with us ; and, while I prepared for them a bountiful 
supper, according to promise, my mind was occupied 
with painful reflections on the new embarrassments 
which now presented themselves. I saw very plainly 
that these Esquimaux, for some reason or other, wished 
to desert us ; and it was equally evident that, if we 
should be abandoned in that place, the consequences 
would be fatal to some of my sick companions. I could 
see but one or two ways of extricating ourselves from 
the difficulty. I did not doubt our ability to compel 
these two savages to convey us to the brig ; but know- 
ing these people to be unwarlike and cowardly in their 
disposition, I was unwilling to take advantage of these 
defects of character. My intercourse with the native 
tribes had taught me that all kinds of trickery with 
them is considered fair and honorable. They are 



GKTNNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 171 

always ready to practice a ruse^ or to excuse others for 
the same propensity. I determined, therefore, to com- 
bat them with their own weapons ; but nothing but the 
desperate circumstances in which I was placed could 
have induced me to use the stratagem, of which I am 
about to give an account. Convinced that it was an 
affair of life or death, for Dr. Hayes and two others of 
my party appeared to be almost in the last extremity, 
and were likely to die for want of medical assistance, I 
resolved that no time should be lost in the conveyance 
of these sufferers to the vessel, where alone they could 
meet with the attentions they required. I endeavored 
to touch the humane feelings of the two Esquimaux, by 
explaining to them the dangerous situation of my com- 
rades ; but these representations did not answer the 
purpose ; it was plain that they had made up their 
minds not to go to the brig. Their obstinacy in this 
matter was unaccountable to me at that time, but the 
mystery was cleared up afterward. When these 
hunters and their associates conveyed Bonsall and 
Petersen to the brig, as I have previously related, Dr. 
Kane feasted them in his cabin, and they embraced 
that opportunity to steal some of the Doctor's knives, 
forks, spoons, and every other small article that could 
possibly be carried off without too much risk of detec- 
tion. They had likewise committed another piece of 
knavery, by throwing away some of the pro\asions 
which they had engaged to carry to our party at 
"Wanderers' Home," notwithstanding they had left 
one of their company as a hostage for the safe delivery 



172 GODFREY'S NARRATIYE OF THE 

of these provisions. These deeds of delinquency made 
them afraid to revisit the hrig, where they might expect 
to be held accountable for their rascality. 

Finding that the two native hunters could not be 
persuaded or induced to help us on our way, and being 
now satisfied that they had resolved to leave us on the 
ice, I perceived that it would be necessary to turn the 
joke on themselves. Among other trumpery in our 
baggage department, there were a few bottles of medi- 
cines. One of these nostrums, labeled " Grodfrey% 
Cordial^'' appeared to have been invented by some 
namesake of mine, with whom I cannot claim the honor 
of a personal acquaintance. However, the physic is 
considered to be ^' a safe and pleasant remedy for colic, 
griping pains, and other diseases to which children are 
liable.'' I had known it to be given to peevish infants, 
to make them sleep, and its virtue as an opiate was the 
circumstance that chiefly recommended it to my notice 
at that time. Having prepared a pot of " scouse'' ex- 
pressly for the entertainment of our faithful Esquimaux 
carriers, I seasoned the mess with a pretty large dose 
of the anodyne mixture. This preparation was greedily 
swallowed by my two patients, who were too intent on 
gratifying their own appetites to observe that my com- 
panions and I did not partake of the same dish. After 
awhile, perceiving that they were becoming drowsy, I 
advised them to put themselves to bed in the tent. 
As an Esquimaux is always willing to eat or sleep, they 
readily took my counsel, and were soon locked up 
tightly in the embrace of the poppy-crowned deity. I 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 113 

then deposited in the tent provisions enough to serve 
them for two or three days, — (which was as much as I 
could spare,) — and having hitched up the dog-team, we 
placed our invalids in the sledge, wrapped them up 
well in buffalo skins and blankets, and started off at full 
speed. Hayes, Sonntag, and Stevenson occupied the 
sledge ; and as the dogs could not conveniently drag a 
heavier load, Blake, Whipple, and I, being the healthiest 
men of the party, ran on behind and assisted the dogs, 
by pushing against the back of the sledge. I really 
am not casuist enough to know whether my conduct in 
this affair was justifiable or not. It was certainly an 
unjust act to take possession of a sled and dog-team 
which did not belong to us; but then the question 
arises, would it not have been a greater fault to allow 
our sick people to perish on the ice ? I was placed 
between the horns of a moral dilemma, so that it was 
impossible for me to take any course with which my 
conscience would have been perfectly satisfied. Some 
time after this occurrence, I met with one of the natives 
whom I had tricked ; he gave me full credit for my in- 
genuity, and was so excessively complimentary, as to 
say that I deserved to be an Esquimaux. He gave me 
a humorous account of the astonishment of himself and 
his comrade when they awoke, and found that they had 
been outwitted by the white men ; and he begged me to 
supply him with some of the "sleepy stuff," as he 
thought it would be a good joke to try its effects on 
some of his countrymen. 

When our party had traveled, in the manner I have 
15* 



174 GODFREYS NARRATIVE OP THE 

described, about eight hours, we came to an Esquimaux 
settlement, where we stopped to repose. Here I met 
with two of the hunters who had deserted us on the 
preceding day. They were very much surprised to see 
us at that place. I informed them that we had bor- 
rowed the sledge and dog-team from their associates, 
who were waiting at the tent in expectation of their 
arrival, according to promise. As they never had any 
intention to go back, and knew that their friends did 
not expect them, my story did not obtain much credit. 
They appeared to be apprehensive that we had done 
their companions some mischief, and when I parted 
from them, they were about to start for the place where 
we had left my two slumbering patients. I sent word 
to the victimized hunters that whenever it suited their 
convenience to come to the brig, their sledge and dog- 
team would be returned, and the owners should be suita- 
bly recompensed for the use of them. 



1 

i 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. IT 7 



CHAPTER XIX. 

THE WANDERERS RETURN TO THE BRIG — SOME OF I HEM 
ARE TAKEN SICK — DR. HAYES HAS HIS TOES CUT OFF 
-STARVATION ON SHIPBOARD — PREVALENCE OF THE 
SCURVY — THE MEN DYING FOR WANT OF FRESH PRO- 
VISIONS — SEVERAL PARTIES SENT OUT TO PROCURE 
FOOD — THE COLD DRIVES THEM BACK — THE AUTHOR'S 
SOLITARY JOURNEY OF NINETY-FIVE MILES — HIS DAR- 
ING ENTERPRISE SUCCEEDS — HE OBTAINS A SUPPLY OF 
FRESH MEAT — MORE OF HANS CHRISTIAN'S LOVE AF- 
FAIR. 

We traveled as rapidly as the strength of the dogs 
would permit, timing matters so as to stop for rest at 
the different Esquimaux settlements on the way. The 
natives treated us with uniform kindness at the several 
villages where we halted ; and I believe that some of 
our invalids would have died on the way, but for the 
relief afforded them by the hospitality of the " savages." 
We reached the brig on the 12th of December, having 
been absent more than three months. Famine, disease, 

d long suffering had made such havoc in our personal 
appearance that our friends on board could scarcely 
recognize us ; certainly a more ghastly company was 
never seen on the deck of an hermaphrodite brig. The 



1Y8 Godfrey's narrative of the 

sick people were immediately put to bed. Some of 
them were found to be in a very bad condition. Sonn- 
tag, Blake, and Stevenson were quite ill for several 
weeks ; and Dr. Hayes was obliged to part with his 
toes, as his feet had been badly frozen. This toeless 
condition, by the way, was one of our arctic fashions, 
as a considerable proportion of our company had been 
subjected to that kind of trimming ; though, (if a bad 
pun may be excused,) few of us could well afford to 
have our understandings retrenched. 

We found that those of our men who had remained 
on board had suffered rather severely, though their sit- 
uation exposed them to much less hardship than our 
party of wanderers had sustained. Our second winter 
in the polar regions was more calamitous than the first. 
Of course, the longer we remained there the more our 
stock of provisions and fuel must become exhausted. 
The commodities we had brought out for the purpose 
of trading with the Esquimaux were nearly expended ; 
the consequence was, that the supplies of fresh meat 
which we had hitherto obtained from the natives now 
became more scanty. Latterly, these people had visited 
us but seldom, as they never leave their houses in the 
winter except in cases of absolute necessity. The want 
of fresh meat caused the scurvy to prevail among us 
more extensively than ever. In the latter part of De- 
cember nearly all of our men were sick ; and it wa" 
very perceptible that unless they could have the benefit 
of a salutary change of diet, the death of some of them 
would be inevitable. The dogs were dying in great 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 179 

numbers — literally starving to death. In this contin- 
gency, Dr. Kane and Petersen started in a dog-sledge 
for the nearest Esquimaux settlement, called Etah, 
with the hope of procuring some meat ; but the severity 
of the cold compelled them to turn back before they 
had accomplished their purpose. Several other parties 
were sent out with the same result. At last Dr. Kane 
dispatched Hans Christian on a similar mission, having 
a notion that the hardihood of this young native would 
enable him to perform the task. Hans gave me an expres- 
sive glance when he took his departure, and I judged 
then that he did not intend to return. I mentioned 
in a former part of this narrative that he had entrusted 
me with the secret of a love aTair in which he was en- 
gaged, and I suspected thvt he was now about to settle 
down as a married man. The event seemed to confirm 
my suspicions, for he remained absent for more than 
three weeks. 

In the meanwhile, the state of afiairs on board be- 
came almost desperate. Several of our men appeared 
to be at the point of death ; their sufferings were most 
distressing ; and all this misery proceeded from the 
want of suitable food ; and it appeared to me that, with 
a little energetic exertion, this necessary article might 
be obtained. As I was in good health, and was always 
willing to undertake any labor for the good of our littlo 
community, I wondered that our commander did not 
send me on a provision-hunting expedition, as every 
other healthy man on board had been dispatched on 
this errand. The reason why he did not send me has 



130 Godfrey's narrative op the 

been subsequently explained by the Commander himself. 
He was " afraid that I might meet or waylay Hans 
Christian on the route and murder him !'* Good heavens ! 
how could Dr. Kane have harbored the suspicion that it 
was possible for me to perpetrate such a crime ? Had 
he ever seen any thing assassin-like in my conduct ? 
When the reader has accompanied me through this 
narrative, he may come to the conclusion that Dr. 
Kane himself was quite as likely to commit such a deed 
of blood as William Godfrey. I never attempted to 
shoot a man on a slight provocation, and without any 
coloring of law or justice; nor have I ever shown a 
disposition to assail the person or the reputation of a 
man whom I supposed to be defenseless. Were Dr. 
Kane now living, I should speak of the events I am 
about to record in a manner which might be unpleasant 
to the feelings of his enthusiastic admirers ; but as the 
man who was my enemy without a cause has gone to 
his final account, I shall say no more than is absolutely 
necessary for my own vindication. 

Among other unwarrantable liberties which Dr. 
Kane has taken with my name and character, I find 
the following mention of me in his published journal : 
" I had on board a couple of men, William Godfrey and 
John Blake, whose former history I would like to know 
— bad fellows both of them, but daring, energetic and 
strong." If Dr. Kane had any curiosity to know my 
" former history" he might have been gratified, if he 
had merely hinted his wishes to myself. I could have 
told him a tale, not of crime but of sorrow, which might 



1 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION 181 

have disarmed his prejudices and ill-\rill. As the name 
of John Blake appears above, in an unfortunate con- 
nection, I must do him the justice to say, that I know 
no reason why he deserved to be called a " bad fellow," 
more than any other person on board of the brig Ad- 
vaneej except that it was his misfortune, as well as 
mine, not to please Dr. Kane. He was no hypocrite, 
no sycophant, he was not slavishly submissive to his 
superior, he would swear a little sometimes, and would 
occasionally go to sleep in the midst of one of the 
Doctor's religious exhortatians ; and I believe that was 
the most damnable sin that the recording angel ever 
set down to his account. For all these things Blake 
did penance, and is therefore, (according to the Catho- 
lic doctrine,) entitled to forgiveness ; unless it should 
be urged that his penance was involuntary/. Once, 
when he complained of being unwell, and showed a*dis- 
inclination for some task which the Doctor imposed on 
him, our " mild and gentle" Commander struck him on 
the head with a handspike, inflicting a wound which 
placed his life at some hazard. 

To show how apt Dr. Kane was to misconstrue a 
man's character, I will refer to the glowingly favorable 
account he has given of that " pious youth," Hans 
Christian. This sly and sedate individual had the au- 
dacity to fall in love without his Commander's permis- 
sion, and while he was professing the most unbounded 
affection for the Doctor, and declaring his perfect satis- 
faction with his situation on board of the Advance^ he was 
making preparations to " vamoose" at the first opportu- 
16 



132 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE 

nity. I have confessed that he made me acquainted with 
his design ; for which I could not blame him, as his term 
of service had expired, and he had a right to follow his 
own inclinations. I thought so at least, and I did not 
choose to become an informer. 

It was mentioned above that Hans had been sent to 
the settlement of Etah for provisions. He had been 
absent several weeks, and but one person on board 
could guess at the cause of his detention. Meanwhile 
the sickness and distress on board increased daily, 
until I could bear the sight of my comrades' misery no 
longer. As I had once been dismissed from the brig, 
and had never entered into any new contract with the 
Commander, I considered myself under no obligation 
to wait for the orders which I saw plainly that he did 
not intend to give. Believing that it was in my power 
to supply my companions with the means of health and 
comfort, I resolved to start forthwith for the Esqui- 
maux village. I did not ask Dr. Kane's permission, 
for several reasons. 1. I thought that such an appli- 
cation to him would be an acknowledgment of his au- 
thority to control my movements. 2. I had reason to 
believe that he would not give his consent. 3. He 
might forbid me to go ; and I judged that if it were a 
fault for me to go without orders, it would be a still 
greater fault to go against orders. 

Without making any communication to Dr. Kane on 
the subject, I started on foot, about the latter part of 
February, 1854, and walked ninety-five miles over the 
ice to the Esquimaux village called Etah. Several of 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 183 

our company, including Dr. Kane himself, had at differ- 
ent times, attempted to make this journey in dog- 
sledges, but were driven back by the severity of the 
cold. I traveled the whole distance on foo% without 
pausing to rest but once, and with nothing to eat during 
the whole walk except two hard biscuits. The reader 
will observe that I was obliged to keep in constant 
motion to avoid freezing, as I had no blanket or 
buffalo-skin to wrap myself in if I felt disposed to sleep. 
I had the ill-luck to encounter a severe snow-storm 
when about half-way, and I took shelter under the lee 
of an ice-hill, where I remained for two hours, at the 
great risk of my life ; for had I fallen asleep I might 
have awaked in heaven. Had I kept on while the snow 
was falling rapidly, I would probably have been struck 
with snow-blindness ; in that case I should have lost 
my way, having no companion to guide me, and I must 
have perished. Traveling alone in these regions is so 
very dangerous, that unless a man knows well what he 
can endure, he should never undertake it. I made 
this journey in thirty hours. 

On my arrival at Etah, I found our truant, Hans 
Christian, domesticated in the hut of his intended 
father-in-law. He excused himself for not coming 
back with the sledge and provisions, by stating that he 
had been very sick. I judged that he had merely been 
love-sick ; but knowing how to excuse a lover's foibles, 
I did not reproach him. Kalutunah, Shangheu and 
some other distinguished citizens of Etah, prepared a 
rich banquet of seal-meat in honor of my arrival, and 



184 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE 

they appeared to be much grieved when they under- 
stood that I could make but a short stay. When I 
made them acquainted with the destitution of my com- 
panions on shipboard, they made a contribution of 
seal and walrus-flesh, amounting to about 450 pounds, 
for which I was unable to oflfer them any recompense, 
and none was demanded. After resting myself for 
four hours, I took the sledge and dog-team which Hans 
had brought to the settlement with him, and having 
put the provisions which had been given me on board, 
I took leave of my friends and started on my return. 
Before I left, however, I advised Hans Christian to 
come back and stay with us a little while longer, as I 
thought it probably that the Expedition would proceed 
homeward in the Spring ; and in that case, Hans would 
be honorably dismissed from the service, as he would 
not be expected to leave his native country. In com- 
pliance with my advice, he promised to return to the 
brig as soon as an opportunity offered. 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 



186 



CHAPTER XX. 

THE AUTHOR RETURNS TO THE BRIG WITH A LOAD OP 
FRESH MEAT — HIS WARM RECEPTION — HE BECOMES A 
TARGET FOR PISTOL AND RIFLE PRACTICE — REFUSES 
TO COME ON BOARD — DR. KANE AND BONSALL TRY 
TO COMPEL HIM — HE TREATS THE DOCTOR DISRE- 
SPECTFULLY AND RETIRES UNDER A GALLING FIRE — 
HIS DESPERATE JOURNEY BACK TO ETAH — HE IS 
OVERPOWERED BY THE COLD, AND SINKS DOWN IN A 
SNOW-DRIFT — HIS PROVIDENTIAL ESCAPE. 

As my dogs were fresh and vigorous, after their long 
rest at the settlement, they traveled very rapidly. As 
my business was urgent, I stopped but two or three 
times on the way, and then only long enough to feed 
the animals and give them a little rest. I felt some 
doubts arising as to the reception I should meet with 
when I arrived at the vessel, but I hoped that my suc- 
cess in procuring food for the starving people would be 
a sufficient apology for my unauthorized absence. I 
made up mind, however, not to go on board until I was 
assured of meeting with friendly treatment. When 
about fifty yards from the vessel, I stopped and hailed 
with the customary, " Ship ahoy !" Bonsall appeared 
at the side, and I requested him to call up Dr. Kane. 
' 16* 



186 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE 

The commander soon presented himself, and I accosted 
him as nearly as I can remember with the following 
words : " Dr. Kane, I have brought some fresh provi- 
sions for the use of my suflfering companions. I am 
about to return for some more, and I hope you will 
send some of your men to take these on board.'' He 
did not answer me for several minutes, but appeared to 
be reflecting what he should do. At length he said, 
" William, you had better come on board." I replied, 
"That is unnecessary. Dr. Kane; here is the meat; 
will you be kind enough to send some of your people for 
it ?" He then said, in a peremptory tone, " I tell you, 
you must come on board.'' To this I promptly answered, 
" I will not." " If you do not," said he, " I will shoot 
you !" During this conversation, Dr. Kane had de- 
scended from the vessel's side to the ice and approached 
me. I met him half way, and when he spoke of shoot- 
ing me, we were scarcely two yards apart. ' He put his 
hand into his pocket, as if to draw out a pistol. "Dr. 
Kane," said I, "you cannot frighten me in this way, 
and I thought that you knew me too well to make the 
attempt. Hans was sick and not able to come with 
the provisions ; I have brought them, and ask you to 
apply them to the relief of your starving crew. Is this 
an offense which deserves capital punishment?" He 
replied, " I do not punish you for bringing the provi- 
sions, but for leaving your vessel without permission." 
Said I : " I have been discharged from the brig, and 
am no longer under your command; but had you 
treated me in a proper manner, I would have remained 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 187 

"With you as long as my services were required." To 
this he answered, "If you will not come on board, 
come nearer the side, while I try to convince you that 
you are under a mistake." 

I complied with this request, and, as soon as we came 
near the companion-way, the Doctor called for Bonsall, 
who immediately came down on the ice. The Doctor 
then repeated, "You must go on board." Said I: 
" If you choose to murder me, you may ; but go on 
board I will not." Dr. Kane then drew a pistol and 
gave it to Bonsall, directing him to shoot me if T at- 
tempted to go away. The Doctor then ascended the 
companion-ladder, and went on board. I turned to 
Bonsall and said, " Comrade, do you intend to shoot 
me?" He answered, " I will shoot you, if you offer to 
leave the side of the brig." "Then," said I, "you 
must shoot, for I am going this moment;" and I suited 
the action to the word, walking very deliberately toward 
my sledge. Bonsall presented his pistol and pulled the 
trigger, but the cap exploded without communicating 
with the charge. Dr. Kane now appeared on deck, 
and seeing me in the act of walking off, he snatched a 
rifle from the gun-stand, for the purpose of shooting 
me, as he fully admits in his journal ; but, owing to 
his haste in handling the weapon, it went off before he 
could bring it to bear. He caught up another rifle, 
cocked it, took deliberate aim, and fired. The bullet 
whistled as it passed my head; but God, being more 
merciful than this amiable and saintly naval ofiicer, 
protected me from harm. I then bowed to the Doctor, 



188 Godfrey's narratiye of the 

in acknowledgment of his intended kindness, and ad- 
vised him to go below and compose himself. " When 
your nerves are steadier," said I, *' perhaps you may 
shoot with more effect." He stood gazing at me as if 
astonished at my audacity. I walked a few paces 
further, and then turned and addressed him again: 
" Dr. Kane, as you will not order your men to unload 
the sledge, I shall have to go back without it. But no 
matter ; I have walked to Etah once, and I can do so 
again. I shall borrow a sledge there, and return with 
another load of meat. In the mean time, you can 
practice with the rifle until I come back and offer you 
a chance for another shot." 

Then, leaving the sledge, with its load, on the ice, I 
bowed again to the Doctor and departed. My former 
journey on foot to Etah was one of unexampled hard- 
ship and danger, but the repetition of that journey, at 
a time when I was already exhausted with fatigue, was 
a desperate undertaking. I expected to die on the 
way ; but I preferred this alternative to making that 
submission which my late Commander required. I felt 
revengeful enough against Dr. Kane to wish that he 
had killed me, so that he might experience the pangs 
of remorse. When I had plodded on my weary way 
for several hours, the thought suddenly occurred, to me 
that I was without a morsel of food, and that it would 
be impossible for me to obtain any before I came to 
Etah. "But that matters little, (I soliloquized,) it 
is not likely that I shall die of hunger.'' 

I made this journey at the coldest and darkest period 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 189 

of the arctic winter. The temperature must have been 
at least fifty degrees below zero. My limbs became 
stiffer every moment, and a drowsy feeling crept over 
me in spite of every effort to resist it. Often did I 
feel strongly tempted to lie down, 

** And with one dying glance upbraid the sky ;" 

but better feelings prevailed ; and I looked up to 
Heaven with affectionate confidence, remembering that 
man alone was my enemy. I felt, however, that the 
catastrophe was approaching. My physical energies 
had been tried to their utmost powers of endurance, 
and they failed at last. I felt an oppressive weight on 
my brain ; my limbs were immovable ; I tottered and 
sank into a deep snow-drift. Then I recognized the 
certainty of my fate, recommended myself to Divine 
mercy, and became insensible. 

But a few minutes could have elapsed, I think, be- 
fore I recovered my senses. I felt no pain — no un- 
pleasant sensation of any kind — but was extremely 
drowsy ; and although quite conscious that sleep and 
death, at that time, were one and the same thing, that 
thought would not have prevented me from indulging 
my somnolent inclination. In such circumstances sleep 
is so fascinating and attractive, that the gloomy aspect 
of his ''half-brother" ceases to be terrible. A touch 
of the ice-king's sceptre then becomes as potent and 
irresistible as the somniferous influences of Prosperous 
wand. But, while my physical powers succumbed to 
the antagonism of natural causes, my spirit resisted, 



190 Godfrey's narrative of the 

and prompted me to attempt one more struggle for my 
life. I felt that it was unmanly to be victimized by 
any earthly power, without resisting to the last ex 
tremity. With a desperate effort I arose to my feet, 
and gave myself a severe buffet in the face, which ef- 
fectually awakened me. In fact, the pain of the bruise 
kept me wide awake for three hours afterward. Strange 
as it may seem, when I again began to walk I found 
myself much refreshed. I judged that while my senses 
were absent I had enjoyed the benefit of a short sleep. 
I had, on several former occasions, observed the wonder- 
fully renovating effect of a very short slumber, when 
arctic wayfarers appear to be completely overcome by 
cold and fatigue. One instance occurs to my remem- 
brance. When the rescue party, mentioned in a former 
chapter, were returning to the brig, and the men seemed 
to be entirely worn out by toil and hardship, each was 
allowed to sleep for two minutes while sitting on the 
side of the sledge. They were aroused in time to pre- 
vent fatal consequences ; but this sleep of only two 
minutes duration appeared to restore all their animation 
and vigor. 

My falling into the deep snow-drift (as mentioned 
above,) was a providential circumstance, as a man is 
much less likely to freeze in a pile of snow than on the 
naked ice. After I had recovered my power of loco- 
motion, I struggled onward with some degree of speed 
for the first twenty miles, but afterward with a slow and 
irregular pace, like the movements of a somnambulist. 
I have no recollection of any thing that occurred during 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 191 

the last forty miles of my journey, and I am totally un- 
able to comprehend how it was possible for me to travel 
at all. It is a still greater mystery how I could keep 
in the right course. I learned afterward from the Es- 
quimaux of Etah, that they saw me approaching their 
settlement, and ran out to meet me. They found that 
my eyes were closed, and that I was unable to answer 
any questions. The charitable natives took me into 
one of their huts, chafed my half- frozen limbs, and ad- 
ministered to my necessities with the most anxious at- 
tention. I slept fifteen hours without intermission, and, 
on awaking, found myself as well and as vigorous as 
ever. 



192 GODFREY'S NAKRATIVE OJF THE 



CHAPTER XXI. 

HANS CHRISTIAN PROVES THAT FEAR CAN MAKE A MAN 
SICK AS WELL AS LOVE — GODFREY CONTINUES TO 
SUPPLY THE brig's COMPANY WITH PROVISIONS — DR. 
KANE SENDS ANOTHER ORDER FOR HIM TO COME ON 
BOARD — HE DISOBEYS — THE DOCTOR COMES AFTER-, 
HIM — AN EXCITING DIALOGUE BETWEEN KANE AND 
GODFREY — ^WHEN THREATS FAIL, GODFREY YIELDS TO 
PERSUASION — HE RETURNS TO THE BRIG, AND MEETS 
WITH A CORDIAL RECEPTION FROM HIS COMRADES. 

Hans Christian still remained at Etah. When I 
gave him an account of my last interview with Dr. 
Kane, he was very much alarmed lest the commander 
should have Am arrested and punished as a deserter. 
My story first made him aware of the great fault he had 
committed by absenting himself from the brig without 
leave. His mind was so much exercised by the dread 
of Dr. Kane's resentment, that he became sick in 
reality, and I was obliged to nurse him for two or three 
days. I inspired him with fresh courage by assur- 
ing him that all would be well enough if he should re- 
turn to his duty, which he promised to do. As soon aa 
he was well enough to be out, he and I began to hunt, 
in order to raise another supply of provisions for the 



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liiiiiiiiii I p 

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illiilli 



lif 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 195 

people on board of the AdvancSj as I did not wish to 
exact too much from the charity of the Esquimaux ; 
in fact, they had already given us as much meat as they 
could easily spare. When our hunting had furnished 
us with a considerable amount of provisions^ consisting 
of arctic rabbits, foxes, and seal and walrus-flesh, I bor- 
rowed a sledge from Kalnuch, (one of the men of Etah,) 
and sent Hans with a good load of eatables to the brig. 
I sent him, instead of going myself, in order to give 
him an opportunity to make his peace with the Doctor. 
As Mr. Christian was a perfect adept in the art of 
blarney, he soon succeeded in re-establishing himself 
in the good graces of the Commander. 

A week after the departure of Hans, he returned 
with the borrowed sledge, and brought a verbal man- 
date from Dr. Kane, requiring me to come to the vessel 
without delay. Of course I paid no attention to this 
summons. Soon after Hans returned, I borrowed a 
sledge and dog-team from one of my Esquimaux friends 
named Metek, and drove to another settlement eighty- 
five miles from Etah, where I negotiated for a load of 
provisions ; and on my return to Etah^ I sent Hans 
again to the ship with these new supplies. On this 
trip Hans was accompanied by Metek. In the mean- 
w^hile I remained at Etah, living with the Esquimaux, 
and adapting myself as much as possible to their habits 
and customs. Our usual food was dried walrus-meat 
and blubber. I made myself useful to my kind friends 
of this settlement, hunting with them, and assisting 
them in their various domestic occupations. Among 



196 Godfrey's narrative of the 

the ladies I was a great favorite ; they would give me 
one of the strongest expressions of their regard, by 
biting off pieces of raw meat and presenting them to 
me from their own mouths. Such delicate attentions 
flattered me, of course ; but all the affectionate treat- 
ment I met with did not quite reconcile me to my pre- 
sent mode of life. I felt home-sick ; and several times 
I had almost resolved to start off on foot for Uper- 
navick, from whence I might obtain a passage to my 
own country. I had no books with me, and nothing to 
relieve the monotony of my existence except smoking a 
pipe. I had no pipe, until I made myself one of the 
marrow-bones of a seal. 

With my last remaining knife, and a few other 
articles which I could scarcely spare, I purchased an- 
other sledge-load of provisions, and sent them to the 
brig by two Esquimaux, Miuke and Metek ; the latter 
having returned with his sledge, leaving Hans at the 
brig. Thus I constituted myself a purveyor for my 
comrades on board, and kept them constantly supplied 
with wholesome victuals. When I sent the last-men- 
tioned load by Miuke and Metek, I walked ten miles 
behind their sledge, and saw them fairly started. 
When I parted from them, I requested them to tell Mr. 
Brooks to send me some articles suitable for traffic with 
the natives, that I might have the means of purchasing 
food for the use of the brig's company. Either this 
message was not delivered, or no attention was paid 
to it. 

At the end of five days Metek returned, bringing 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 19t 

Dr. Kane with him, and leaving Miuke to return with 
Hans. I was standing at the door of a hut when the 
sledge, with Metek and Dr. Kane on board, came in 
sight. Metek hallooed to me and informed me, in the 
Esquimaux language, that " nally-gag" {i, e, the white 
captain) had a pistol. He also bawled out to the women 
and children who were gathered about the hut, and 
ordered them to keep out of the way. He evidently 
considered ''nally-gag" as a very dangerous person. 

I approached the sledge and saluted Dr. Kane in a 
very respectful manner, inquiring if he were fatigued. 
He replied, ''Very much fatigued and very cold." In 
fact, although he was well wrapped up in furs and wool- 
ens, and had traveled very rapidly in the dog-sledge, 
he appeared to be half-frozen. I got him into a hut, 
chafed his benumbed limbs, and having borrowed a 
cooking utensil from one of the Esquimaux women, I 
prepared the Doctor some warm broth. He had brought 
some ship-biscuit with him, and I broke several of these 
up and put them in his soup, to make the mess more 
palatable. After he had eaten, he still complained of 
fatigue. I helped him off with some of his clothes and 
put him to bed, where he slept soundly for several 
hours. When he awoke, in answer to my inquiry how 
he felt, he replied that he was very much refreshed, 
and he thanked me for my attentions. He then asked 
me what were my reasons for staying away so long 
from the brig, where my services were required. I re- 
plied that I had several reasons for keeping away ; but 
the principal reason was that I could be more useful to 
17^ 



198 Godfrey's narrative of the 

my companions by remaining where I was and sending 
them food at every opportunity. "Ay," said the Doc- 
tor, " but you are setting them an example of disobe- 
dience and mutiny/' Said I : " They will not so under- 
stand it. Dr. Kane, if you explain to them that I was 
once dismissed from the Adva^ice^ with permission to 
go home. My engagement was thus dissolved ; and 
when I re-entered the brig, it was on a new footing. 
You might have considered me as your guest, or as a 
workman temporarily employed on board, but you had 
no right to subject me to the rigid discipline of the 
naval service.'' He answered: ''These are questions 
for lawyers to decide ; but until a legal decision is given, 
you are bound to obey my orders ; and your refusal to 
come on board when I command you to do so, is mu- 
tiny." I told him that I could not consider myself 
under obligation to be any man's slave, and to remain 
in a slavish condition, until the laws should decide that 
I was a freeman. He replied : " I am not bound to 
consider nice points of law in a case of this kind. It 
is enough that the law has put it in my power to en- 
force obedience to my orders." '' If the law kas given 
you such power," said I, ''why do you not use it?" 
" This is setting me at defiance," said the Doctor, " but 
you forget that I can send a force from the brig that 
will be sufficient to arrest you ; and if I do so, it will 
be necessary to administer a severe pimishment." 
"When you have arrested me," said I, "it will be time 
enough to speak of punishment. You have no right to 
command me, and I will not obey you. If any of your 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 199 

men think that they can arrest me, let them come and 
try the experiment." 

After a pause of several minutes, the Doctor, who 
had become a little excited toward the end of the dia- 
logue just reported, became more calm, and inquired, 
" What do you intend to do ?" I replied, that I had 
partially made up my mind to go to Upernavick with 
my Esquimaux friend Metek, who was inclined to visit 
that place and had offered to convey me thither in his 
dog-sledge. From Upernavick, or some other southern 
port of Greenland, I hoped to obtain a passage in some 
vessel to the United States. The Doctor answered; 
" You had better abandon this project, the execution of 
which will be both diflBcult and dangerous. I am now 
making preparations to return to our own country, and 
I find that your assistance is indispensable. It will be 
much better for you to go home with your comrades, 
and I now ask you, as a friend, to accompany me back 
to the brig." I answered without hesitation, " Dr. 
Kane, since you ask me as a friend, I will go with you." 
He appeared to be not only pleased, but surprised at 
my acquiescence; but if the Do'ctor had been better 
acquainted with human nature in general, and my na- 
ture in particular, he would not have been amazed to 
find that kind and gentle words were more effective 
than angry threats and reproaches. 

The ever-accommodating Metek, (who, by the way, 
was the most amiable person, savage or civilized, that 
ever I met with,) was now summoned ; and the Doctor 
negotiated with him for the use of his sledge and team 



200 GODFREYS NARRATIVE OF THE 

to convey us to the vessel. Metek, who was afraid 
that there was something wrong between the Doctor 
and I, wished to go with us. He took me apart and 
told me that he was afraid that ''nally-gag" might 
take a notion to shoot me on the way, and that his 
object in going was to keep a watch on the Captain's 
movements. I told him that my quarrel with the 
Captain was all over, and that we were as good friends 
as ever. "No, no," said Metek, shaking his head, 
''it's not all right yet ; I see it in his eye!" And 
Metek proved to be a more accurate observer than 
myself. 

I obtained several pieces of meat on credit, promising 
to send some small articles from the brig to pay for 
them. This meat I placed in the sledge ; and, as the 
dogs had not yet recovered from the fatigue of their 
late journey, I told the Doctor that I should walk, in 
order that the animals might not be too heavily laden. 
Dr. Kane and Metek rode in the sled, and I ran behind. 
In this way we traveled twelve miles, when I became 
tired of running, and told the Doctor that he and Metek 
might go forward with the sledge, and that I would 
walk the rest of the way. The Doctor told me that 
Hans was going to the settlement in another dog-sledge, 
that I should meet him on the way, and that he would 
furnish me with food and any other necessaries that I 
required. I told Dr. Kane that I did not need any 
thing, that I had traveled on this route twice without 
provisions, and believing that I could do so again, I 
would not deprive Hans of the articles which had been 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 201 

provided for his own comfort on the way. Kane and 
Metek then drove ahead ; I followed at my leisure, and 
reached the brig a few hours after their arrival. 

I met with a cordial reception from the whole brig's 
company. A magnificent banquet of bean-soup, (the 
best entertainment that the vessel could afi'ord,) was 
prepared to celebrate my return. When the feasting 
and jollification were over, I went below and took a 
long sleep. I found that the fresh meat which I had 
sent on board had been extremely useful in restoring 
the men to health and renovating their good spirits. I 
assisted my comrades in making preparations for our 
homeward travel, as it had been decided that we should 
abandon the brig early in the spring, and attempt a 
boat and sledge journey to Upernavick. Dr. Kane 
treated me well enough ; and I had no reason to suppose 
that he harbored any unkind feelings toward me, until 
the mention made of me in his book convinced me that 
I had not quite succeeded in gaining his friendship. 



202 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE 



CHAPTER XXII. 

DR. Kane's unfavorable notice of Godfrey — charge 

OF desertion and mutiny — GODFREY'S DEFENSE 
— COMMENTS OF THE NORTH BRITISH REVIEW — THAT 
PERIODICAL CONDEMNS DR. KANE AND EXCULPATES 
GODFREY — GODFREY SUBMITS HIS CASE TO THE ARBI- 
TRATION OF PUBLIC OPINION — A WARNING TO OP- 
PRESSORS. 

The incidents detailed in the last two or three chap- 
ters have been somewhat differently related by Dr. 
Kane in his published volume. The Doctor's memory 
appears to have been defective in some instances. 
Among other curious assertions, he states that he had 
reason to suspect that those two "bad fellows," God- 
frey and Blake, had contemplated desertion and escape 
to the Esquimaux ; and that they intended to waylay 
Hans, rob him of his dog-sledge, and proceed southward. 
Deeply do I regret that Dr. Kane died before I had an 
opportunity to ask him what reasons he had for any such 
suspicions as these? He says, "these men were 
watched, handcuffed, and after protestations of better 
behavior they returned to their duties." This is all 
purely imaginative. Blake and I were never handcuffed; 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 203 

and never made any protestations of better behavior, 
because our behavior was always as good as any body 
had a right to expect. Dr. Kane says that I told him 
that I had resolved to spend the rest of my life with 
the Esquimaux. I never told him any thing of the 
kind ; and the filthy habits of these savages were so 
disagreeable to me, that nothing but the sternest neces- 
sity could have compelled me to remain among them 
for a single week. This pious Commander says that he 
induced me to come on board by " means of a strata- 
gem." When he said, " I ask you, as a friend, to come 
on board," — was this profession of friendship a strata- 
gem ? If so, it was a very unworthy one ; and such a 
stratagem as no man who makes the least pretensions 
to honorable feelings could use. But the most absurd 
statement of all is, that he brought me '' a prisoner to 
the brig." Dr. Kane, in physical constitution, was the 
feeblest man on board of the Advance. I should have 
defied any two of the strongest of the brig's company to 
make me " a prisoner." This preposterous statement, 
therefore, needs no denial. 

In order to show that the Doctor is condemned on 
his own confession, and that his account of this matter 
carries its own refutation with it, I will quote the de- 
cision of an impartial authority ; an authority which 
was not likely to be influenced by any feelings of favor 
or prejudice. The extract I give below is taken from 
a notice of Dr. Kane's book in the '' North British Re- 
view." It will be observed that the writer here quoted 
had no knowledge of the facts of the case, except what 



204 Godfrey's narrative of the 

he derived from Dr. Kane's own statements; and these, 
as I have shown, are made as favorable as they could be 
to the Doctor's side of the question : 

" In this emergency, (says the Reviewer, with Dr. 
Kane's volume before him,) an event occurred of so 
serious a nature that if, in one of ita results, it threat- 
ened evil to the Expedition, in another it might have 
justly withdrawn from it that high protection which 
they daily sought. (Here the Reviewer alludes proba- 
bly to Dr. Kane's frequent petitions to the Throne of 
Grace.) On Sunday, the 18th of March, it is recorded 
in Dr. Kane's journal, that he had on board ' a couple 
of men, William Godfrey and John Blake, whose former 
history he would like to know — bad fellows, both of them, 
but daring, energetic and strong.' He had reason to 
think that they contemplated desertion and escape to 
the Esquimaux — an act doubtless of trivial delinquency, 
when we consider that these two men, with six others 
were formerly allowed to withdraw, with half the 
stores of the Expedition, and that Dr. Kane took 
credit for receiving them back again, though an incum- 
brance to his party. Dr. Kane, however, viewed the act 
through the eyes of his imagination. He conjectured 
that the intention of the deserters was to rob Hans of 
his sledge and dog-team and proceed southward. The 
men were watched, handcuffed, and after protestations 
of better behavior they returned to their duties. An 
hour after, Godfrey escaped, and Blake remained true 
to his post. 

" Hans had now been many weeks absent, and Dr. 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 205 

Kane, anxious for his return, set out in.searcli of him. 
Hans is found ! Godfrey had urged him to drive off 
with him to the south, ' and so to leave the Expedition 
sledgeless ;' but, upon Hans* refusal, Godfrey consented 
to take a sledge-load of fresh meat to the brig ! On 
the morning of the 2d of April, Bonsall ' reported a 
man about a mile from the brig, apparently lurking at 
the ice-foot!' Dr. Kane and Bonsall went forward and 
discovered their dog-sledge with a cargo of walrus-meat, 
which had been brought by Godfrey, ' and was such a 
God-send,' that Dr. Kane declares, ' one may forgive 
the man in consideration of the good he has done for 
us all.' Godfrey advanced to meet Dr. Kane, and told 
him that he had resolved to spend the rest of his life 
with the Esquimaux, and that neither persuasion nor 
force would prevent him. After forcing him back to 
the gang-way by presenting a pistol, and leaving him 
under Bonsall's charge. Dr. Kane went on board for 
irons, but he had hardly reached the deck when God- 
frey ' turned to run.' Bonsall discharged his pistol at 
him, which ' failed at the cap.' Dr. Kane 'jumped at 
once to the gun-stand ;' his first rifle went off in the 
act of cocking ; and the second, aimed in haste at a 
long but practicable distance, missed the fugitive. ' He 
made good his escape, before we could lay hold of an- 
other weapon.' 

" This attempt to take the life of William Godfrey, 
which no law, human or divine, can justify, was, fortu- 
nately for Dr. Kane, over-ruled. When, in a formei* 
Arctic expedition, its leader shot a ferocious Indian of 
18 



206 Godfrey's narratiye of the 

his party, the world viewed it as an act of stern neces- 
sity and personal safety ; but Godfrey was neither a 
madman nor an enemy. He approached the brig to 
intimate his resolution to live with the Esquimaux : as 
if to claim a friendly acquiescence, he brought with him 
a load of food, without which his shipmates might have 
perished. Were we disposed to argue this question at 
the bar of our readers, we would say that the previous 
permission, which was offered and accepted, to with- 
draw with half the crew, had dissolved the original 
obligation; but no argument is required. Dr. Kane 
tells us that ' the daily work went on better in God- 
frey's absence, and that the ship seemed better when 
purged by his desertion ; but thinking the example dis- 
astrous, he resolved, cost what it might, to have him 
back.' A month had nearly elapsed, when a report 
arose that Godfrey was at Etah, with the Esquimaux ; 
and the moment Dr. Kane heard it, he 'resolved that 
he should return to the ship.' He accordingly set off 
to Etah, caught him by a stratagem, and brought him 
' a prisoner to the brig.' A prisoner, indeed ! Dr. 
Kane had been without food in his man-hu^t of eighty 
miles, and when the filth of the walrus-steaks offered 
him by an Esquimaux 'rendered it impossible for 
him to eat them," William Godfrey, who must then 
have been at large, administered to his wants by 'bring- 
ing to him a handful of frozen liver-nuts.' This ' strong 
and healthy man,' too, neither handcuffed nor foot- 
cuffed, ran peaceably by his captor's chariot ; and dur- 
ing the future toils and trials of the Expedition, we find 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 20T 

him placed in situations of trust, and performing all the 
duties of his station. 

" We have presented this singular story fully to our 
readers. It is pregnant with instruction ; and if it is 
not fitted to ^ adorn a tale,' we may use it to ' point a 
moral' touching a theme of duty which, however deeply 
engraven on the tablets of Christianity, has not yet 
been apprehended by the Christian community. The 
chief of an expedition, apprehensive of inconvenience 
to his party from the desertion of an individual, de- 
mands the forfeit of his life ! Is not this a true type of 
what a Christian tolerates as defensive war, a type in- 
structive in its individuality, and more instructive still 
in its results ? A monarch, like an expedition chief, 
takes offense at an act of real or supposed aggression. 
He assumes that the safety of his throne demands re- 
taliation. His armies march into the field, and his 
ships quit their moorings. His subjects become pirates ; 
and passion and self-interest, under the guise of patriot- 
ism, rush with their fiery cross into peaceful and happy 
communities, and hurry into eternity millions of souls 
unshriven, and unfit to die." 

The article from which the above extract is made, 
was published originally in the "North British Eeview," 
and was republished in the " American Eclectic Maga- 
zine of Foreign Literature, Science and Art," for April, 
1857 : being the leading article of that number. The 
" Eclectic Magazine " is published by W. H. Bidwell, No. 
6 Beekman street. New York. 

The reader will perceive that Dr. Kane has admit- 



208 Godfrey's narratiye of the 

ted, in his own journal, almost enough for my justifi- 
cation ; but there are, in his book, references to myself 
-which do me great wrong, and which the Reviewer 
quoted above, for want of any knowledge of the facts, 
has not contradicted. I never persuaded Hans to run 
away and " leave the expedition sledgeless/' I sus- 
pect that Hans invented that story to ingratiate himself 
with the Commander, by making a display of his own 
fidelity. I was not a fugitive from the brig; for I 
made no secret of my intention to leave her, and I 
walked away boldly. I did not " attempt to run" when 
Bonsall kept guard over me ; and if I had wished to 
make my escape in that craven-like manner, the ice 
about the vessel was too rough to admit of running. 
There are many other errors in Dr. Kane's account ; 
but not wishing to cast any unnecessary obloquy on 
the character of the deceased, I will now submit my 
case to the judgment of the public. I would not have 
presumed to obtrude my private wrongs on the atten- 
tion of the public, with such a prolixity of detail, were 
I not assured that this case involves several questions 
of general interest. And I wish, by the exposure I 
have made, to give a wholesome warning to persons 
"dressed in a little brief authority," who may be 
tempted to ^^play fantastic tricks before high heaven." 
I would teach them the useful lesson that the victims 
of oppression, however abject may be their state, may 
find a tongue to speak ; and by proclaiming their injuries 
in tones which the world cannot refuse to hear, obtain 
redress for their wrongs, even at an earthly tribunal. 



GEINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 209 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

THE AUTHOR GOES ON ANOTHER PROVISIOl^-HUNTING 
EXPEDITION — HE CHASES A BEAR — MUTINY AMONG 
HIS DOGS — HE SHOOTS A SEAL AND SATISFIES THE 
DEMANDS OF THE CANINE MUTINEERS— SCARCITY OF 
PROVISIONS AT ETAH — THE AUTHOR EXTENDS HIS 
JOURNEY TO ANOTHER SETTLEMENT — MEETS WITH 
THE MEN WHO TOOK ^' GODFREY'S CORDIAL" — THEIR 
APPRECIATION OF THE JOKE — A BEAR FIGHT — VA- 
RIOUS ADVENTURES — GODFREY RETURNS TO THE BRIG 
WITH A LOAD OF FRESH MEAT. 

Before I had been on board two wee^s, our stock 
of fresh provisions again gave out ; for our men " eat 
like threshers ;'* as people generally do when they are 
recovering from a spell of sickness. Mr. Brooks, who 
acted as first officer, desired me to take a sledge and 
dog-team, provide myself with such small articles 
as I thought would answer for trading with the Esqui- 
maux, and go to some of the native villages where there 
was any likelihood of obtaining more meat. As I ob- 
served once before, our supplies of beads, knives, and 
other marketable articles, had become very scarce. I 
had observed, however, that the Esquimaux set a very 
18^ 



210 Godfrey's narrative of the 

high value on pieces of wood of any kind; in fact, 
among them there is no better currency than old barrel 
staves, scraps of pine plank, broken boxes, &c. I broke 
Tip a number of old pork barrels, and ladened my sledge 
with the fragments, confident that I should find very 
■willing customers for this kind of merchandise. In 
addition to my wooden-ware, I had a small lot of nee- 
dles and two knives ; the last that could be spared from 
the brig. I traveled alone with a team of four dogs, 
proceeding southward. When about thirty miles from 
the brig, I discovered a bear on the ice, and imme- 
mediately gave chase. My dogs, who were considera- 
bly more than half starved, became almost frantic and 
unmanageable at the prospect of a feast. Though 
obliged to drag the heavily laden sledge after them, 
they darted off in pursuit of the bear, running at a sur- 
prising rate, considering their incumbrances. When 
the chase had lasted for about an hour, I saw that it 
was all lost labor, as the bear, having nothing to carry 
but his own weight, left us further behind him every 
moment. I therefore held in my dogs, and attempted 
to turn their heads in the direction I wished to travel ; 
but the brutes, made desperate by hunger, showed a 
determination to resist my authority. They were much 
to be pitied, indeed, on account of their cruel disap- 
pointment ; but necessity, " the tyrant's plea,'' com- 
pelled me to use severe measures to make them tracta- 
ble. When they found that I would not allow them to 
follow the bear, they threw themselves on their haunches 
and filled the air with the most diabolical howling. I 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 211 

cut away with my whip, right and left, but this had no 
effect on their obstinacy. I got out of the sledge and 
seized one of the leaders by the collar to drag him 
along, but the rascal gave me a pretty bad bite on the 
arm, and so compelled me to relinquish my grasp. 
The contest lasted for half an hour, and not until the 



SEALS AT PLAT. 



bear was quite out of sight could I induce my team to 
move forward. The ravenous propensities of the dogs 
often occasion vexatious delays in this kind of travel- 



212 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE 

ing. Having proceeded about ten miles further, I saw 
a party of seals playing on the ice. Before I left the 
brig, I had taken care to provide myself with a rifle, 
which was loaded and deposited in the sledge ready for 
use. I snatched it up, and while the dogs bounded for- 
ward, I took aim at one of the amphibious animals and 
fired. My shot took effect, disabling the seal and pre- 
venting him from making his escape through an open- 
ing in the ice, which was very near him, and into which 
all the other seals plunged, as soon as they heard the 
report of the gun. My starving dogs pounced on the 
"wounded seal with remorseless fury. In less than five 
minutes, I believe, the creature was torn to pieces and 
completely devoured. 

My poor dogs having satisfied their hunger for the 
present, went on their way with great alacrity. I made 
a very quick trip to Etah, but found the inhabitants of 
that place unprepared for a trade. We had made so 
many draughts on their provision department, that they 
had scarcely enough left for their own use ; and 
although they cast many eager glances at my load of 
old barrel-staves', they had no eatables which they 
could afford to barter for that desirable commodity. 
What a speculation it would be for some Yankee sea 
captain in the merchant service to carry a load of pine 
lumber to the Esquimaux settlements ! Every square 
foot of pine plank would command its weight in costly 
furs, and ten times its weight in seal and walrus-blub- 
ber, which yield more than their whole bulk of good 
lamp-oil ! If Smith's Sound were only navigable, the 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 213 

Greenland trade would deserve the attention of our 
enterprising countrymen. 

Finding that there was no market at Etah for my 
valuable merchandize, I refreshed myself a little at the 
residence of my friend Metek, and started again, with 
the intention of proceeding to the next settlement. 
Metek and his wife harnessed up their dog-team, and 
accompanied me to the nearest Esquimaux village, 
where we found a party of native hunters, among whom 
were the two men whom I had physicked with '^ God- 
frey's Cordial," as related in a former part of this 
volume. That adventure was humorously narrated by 
one of my patients to the whole party, and all of them 
regarded it as a most excellent joke, though I could 
never recall it to my memory without some twinges of 
conscience. 

I remained with these hunters for several days ; and 
while sojourning with them I participated in a bear- 
hunt, or rather a he^LY-Jight, the result of which, for 
some time, was quite doubtful. Our ursine antagonists 
were only two in number, but they were large and pow- 
erful fellows, and very ferocious. We chased them five 
miles, when they turned to bay. The Esquimaux hunt- 
ers were armed with spears ; I had my rifle. Our dogs 
began the attack ; several of them were snatched up by 
the bears, who took them in their arms, gave them an 
affectionate squeeze, and pitched them to the distance 
of twenty or thirty feet. Two dogs were killed by 
this process, and three or four others were badly hurt. 
The plan of attack was for two spearsmen to apply 



214 GODFREY'S NAURATIVE OP THE 

themselves to eacli bear. One of them would give the 
bear a wound behind the shoulder, and when the bear 
turned to execute vengeance, the other hunter would 
stab him on the opposite side. This plan worked very 
well for a while ; but a bear who had received a wound 
was too quick for the aggressor. He turned suddenly, 
and gave the Esquimaux a bite in a very fleshy part of 
the body ; this successful repulse made the whole party 
of assailants stand back for a few minutes. I took this 
opportunity to use my rifle, no great skill in gunnery 
being required, as I could place the muzzle of my piece 
within two feet of my victim's nose. The ball pene- 
trated to the animal's brain, and killed him instantly. 
The other bear was soon after dispatched by my com- 
panions of the hunt. According to the Esquimaux 
rule of sportsmanship, the game was equally divided 
among the members of the party. I obtained nearly 
two hundred pounds of bear's meat as my share of the 
spoils. I likewise traded away my barrel-staves to very 
good advantage, receiving about four hundred and fifty 
pounds of walrus-flesh in exchange for the lot, out of 
which I reserved some twenty or thirty pieces to re- 
ward Metek and his wife for the assistance they had 
given me, and for the many acts of kindness and char- 
ity they had, at various times, done for our brig's com- 
pany. 

Having now as much meat as I could conveniently 
carry on my sledge, I took the nearest route to the 
brig, making but few pauses, and very short ones, on 
the way. Metek carried my load part of the way on 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 215 

his sledge, to save the strength of my dogs for the re- 
mainder of the journey. When I came within fifty 
miles of the brig, the dogs began to give out, as the 
load was too heavy for them. About the same time a 
heavy storm of wind and snow commenced, and I was 
obliged to make an excavation in a snow-drift to shel- 
ter myself. I gave my dogs a luncheon ; then, wrap- 
ping myself up closely in a buffalo-skin, and burying 
myself under the snow, leaving only a breathing-hole, 
I took a comfortable nap while the storm continued. 
When I awoke, I found that my dogs were so worn out 
by hard travel, that they would not be able to drag 
their heavy load to the vessel. I applied all my 
strength to the back of the sledge and pushed it along, 
while the exhausted quadrupeds walked in front. In 
this way we proceeded some three or four miles, when, 
by a very lucky chance, an Esquimaux hunter in an 
empty sledge overtook me. His dogs were tolerably 
fresh, and I bargained with him to convey my load to 
the brig. For this service I agreed to give him a piece 
of pine board, about three feet and a half long and four 
inches broad, which I tore from the back of my sledge. 
You may judge from this circumstance that pine boards 
are very good currency among the Esquimaux. On 
this journey, my only food was raw walrus-meat, in a 
frozen condition. I ran behind my sledge for the 
greater part of the way, in order to lighten the labor 
of my dogs, as the poor brutes were completely wearied 
out. At one place, while passing over some very rough 
ice, the sledge which carried the load was upset ; this 



216 GODFREY ^S NARRATIYE OF THE 

accident made it necessary for us to unload, place the 
sledge in its right position, and then load up again. I 
performed all this labor with uncovered hands, having 
never accustomed myself to wear gloves. My Esqui- 
maux companion expressed his astonishment at my 
hardihood. The Esquimaux themselves do all their 
out-door work with hands closely covered with fur mit- 
tens. 

My arrival at the brig with this fresh supply of meat 
occasioned another jubilee. Mr. Brooks was much 
pleased with my success, and warmly commended me 
for my quick performance of the duty. From Dr. 
Kane himself, I seldom or never received any words or 
signs of approbation or encouragement. He had set 
me down as a "bad fellow," and a bad fellow he was 
determined to have me to the end of the chapter. 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 219 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

FINAL ABANDONMENT OF THE BRIG ADVANCE — HER 
PROBABLE FATE — COMMENCEMENT OF A SLEDGE AND 
BOAT JOURNEY — HERCULEAN LABORS AND SLOW PROG- 
RESS — ELOPEMENT OF HANS CHRISTIAN — FATAL AC- 
CIDENT — DEATH AND BURIAL OF MR. OHLSEN, THE 
CARPENTER — SCARCITY OF PROVISIONS — ROBBERY OF 
DUCK NESTS — SLAUGHTER OF SEA-FOWL — WE MEET A 
DANISH BOAT — ARRIVAL AT UPERNAVICK — OUR RE- 
CEPTION — EMBARKATION FOR THE UNITED STATES — • 
ARRIVAL AT NEW YORK. 

By the 15th day of May, 1855, all the preparations 
for our homeward journey were completed. The mode 
of traveling which had been decided on was by boat 
and sledge conveyance. Our three boats had been 
fixed on sledge-runners, so that they might be easily 
transported over the ice which surrounded the brig. 
While making our adieus to the poor old Advance, we 
could not help observing that there was not a great 
deal of her left to receive our valedictories. We had 
used much of her wood-work for fuel during the two 
hard winters which we had passed in this inhospitable 
climate, and many pieces of board and timber had been 
taken from the hull of the vessel to construct store- 



220 Godfrey's narrative op the 

houses, observatories, &c., on shore. The brig looked 
very much like a wreck when we left her; and as 
the Esquimaux value wood more highly than gold, I 
think it is likely that they have completely demolished 
her. 

Both Kane and Sonntag seem to regard our boat 
journey to Upernavick as a stupendous undertaking. 
I look at it in a somewhat different light. It was, in- 
deed, a tedious and troublesome enterprise ; but during 
the whole time that we were on the route, we experi- 
enced less suffering, and were exposed to less danger, 
than had been attendant on some of our previous jour- 
neys along the shores of the Sound and in the interior 
of Greenland. We were now favored with daylight, 
and an atmospheric temperature which might be con- 
sidered almost pleasant, when compared with that which 
our people had endured on former occasions. 

The last scene on board of the brig was a very so- 
lemn one. Dr. Kane made a prayer for Divine favor 
and protection, a duty which the Doctor seldom omit- 
ted at the commencement of important undertakings. 
He appeared to have the organ of religious veneration 
exceedingly well developed. 

The beginning of our journey was very slow and la- 
borious. The three ice-boats (or boats on sledge-run- 
ners,) were heavily laden with provisions, tent-fixtures, 
cooking apparatus, bedding, scientific instruments, and 
some sick people. To the bow of each ice-boat was 
affixed a rue-raddy, or long strap made of canvas, by 
which the men dragged the boat along. This operation, 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 221 

on account of the roughness of the ice, was not only 
difficult, but almost an impossibility. After one hour's 
hard toil, we found that we had advanced but half a 
mile ! The strength of our whole party was required 
to drag a single boat ; when we had hauled one a little 
way, we returned for another ; and so the work pro- 
ceeded. But the rough hillocky nature of the ice oc- 
casioned less trouble than its fragility in some places. 
The sledges, with all their loads and the men who 
hauled them, broke through repeatedly, and then the 
labor of extricating them was immense. It appeared 
to me that our course might have been made less toil- 
some by a few simple mechanical contrivances ; but as 
I was only '^ one of the men,'' I did not feel authorized 
to make any suggestions. I had been taught by expe- 
rience that advising superior officers in the naval ser- 
vice is a hazardous business, even if your advice is un- 
questionably good. 

We passed the Esquimaux settlement called Etah, 
which has been so often mentioned in this narrative. 
The inhabitants of that village gave us a great deal of 
assistance, and supplied us with some additional provi- 
sions. But soon after we left Etah, Hans Christian, 
the special favorite of the Commander, whose sublime 
virtues have been paraded before the whole civilized 
world, was reported among the missing. Diligent search 
was made for him, but to no purpose. He was never 
seen afterward by any of our company. Dr. Kane, 
who imagined that Hans loved him more than all the 
world, was afraid that he had been sucked in by some 
19^- 



222 



GODFREY ^S NARRATIVE OF THE 



fissure in the ice ; but, in a metaphorical sense, the 
Doctor himself was ''sucked in." Hans had gone off 
to be wedded, and to enjoy the sweets of domestic fe- 
licity. The Esquimaux of Etah aided his escape, and 
they concealed him afterward. Hans had been very 
useful to the Expedition ; being a native of Greenland, 
and accustomed from infancy to the severity of the cli- 
mate, he could endure more cold than any of our party, 
except Morton, Blake, and myself. 




'i^"^J54'«:^^«C3L. 



BURIAL OF MR. OHLSEN, 



Our course was nearly due southward ; but so slow 
was our progress that, at the end of eight days, we 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 223 

found ourselves only fifteen miles from the brig. Be- 
tween Etah and Littleton Island a very melancholy ac- 
cident took place. One of the sledges having broken 
through the ice, the strength of all hands was required 
to lift it out. Mr. Ohlsen, the carpenter, while lifting 
at the bow of the boat, ruptured himself, and either for 
want of proper treatment, or because his hurt was very 
bad, he died two days afterward. We buried him on 
Littleton Island. He was an excellent mechanic, a 
kind-hearted and conscientious man, and indefatigable 
in the performance of his duty. His services to the 
Expedition have never met with the acknowledgment 
they deserved. He left a wife and children ; and the 
thoughts of their destitute situation very much disturbed 
the tranquillity of his last moments. 

Mr. Ohlsen was the third person of our company who 
perished in Greenland. His death left but fifteen sur- 
vivors of the original eighteen who had embarked at 
New York. As a testimonial of respect to the memory 
of Mr. Ohlsen, his name was given to a cape opposite 
to Littleton Island. 

As we had but a short allowance of provisions, we 
were obliged to rely pretty much on hunting and shoot- 
ing for our maintenance during this boat journey. On 
some of the little islands we found an abundance of 
the eggs of the eider-duck, and we succeeded in shoot- 
ing loons and other water-fowls in great number. Near 
Hakluyt Island we joined a party of natives, who were 
engaged in a walrus-hunt ; and two of these animals 
being killed, the meat was fairly distributed among our 



224 



Godfrey's narrative of the 



combined forces, each man having an equal share. 
Walruses appear in herds on the ice, and may be ap- 



^m^ 



w% 



/^^f ' 







WALRUSES ON THE ICE 



preached with little difficulty, as they are not much 
afraid of the human species. They often make des- 
perate resistance when attacked, and they are very 
hard to kill, as their skins are thick and hard, and, in 
some places, impervious to a rifle-ball. The Esquimaux 



GUINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION 225 

slaughter them by striking them with spears in some 
vulnerable parts of their bodies. While the men were 
engaged in hauling the boats along by the tedious pro- 
cess I have described, Dr. Kane, Petersen, and I made 
a number of trips in the dog-sledges io several Esqui- 
maux settlements, for the purpose of obtaining provi- 
sions, which we deposited at different points on our 
intended route:. 

Having passed over eighty miles of ice, we reached 
open water about the middle of June. We now took 
the runners from the boats, to prepare them for a new 
mode of travel ; but as the breaking of the ice made the 
navigation too perilous for any present attempt, we 
remained at Cape Alexander for several days, to wait 
for a favorable change in the condition of the water. 
During the greater part of the journey over the ice we 
were accompanied by some of the inhabitants of Etah. 
When our arrival at open water made a separation ne- 
cessary, they took leave of us with every appearance 
of sorrow. As soon as the water became practicable 
for boating, we embarked and steered southward, until 
we passed Hakluyt Island. The water now became 
very much embarrassed with ice, and we were obliged 
to beat about in every direction to avoid the floes. In 
the meanwhile, provisions became very scarce, and con- 
tinued so until we reached Dalrymple Island, lat. 76° 
10^, where we laid in a capital supply of duck eggs, on 
which we feasted for the next six or eight days. At 
Cape Dudley Digges, the cliffs are resorted to by my- 
riads of aquatic birds, loons, little auks, &c. They ap- 



226 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE 

peared in large flocks, so densely packed together, that 
six or eight were sometimes killed at a single shot. We 
fared luxuriously on these delicate birds, and salted 
some of them for future use. 

We pursued our course by the edge of the land ice, 
along the shore of Melville Bay. On the 4th day of 
August, we were surprised at the sight of a large boat, 
with masts, which was lying among some small islands. 
Soon after, we saw the boatmen, three in number, on 
one of the islands. They were Danes from Upernavick, 
who had come to this locality for the purpose of trading 
with the natives. These men were the first civilized 
persons, (except our own company,) that we had seen 
for about two years. The sight of them occasioned 
some emotions, making us realize the fact that we were 
approaching our homes. The Danes, who were engaged 
in cooking on shore, invited us to partake of their din- 
ner, and treated us to two almost forgotten dainties, 
beer and tobacco ; in requital, we gave them a history 
of our adventures. 

We arrived at the Danish settlement, called Uper- 
navick, on the 6th of August, eighty-three days after 
we left the Advance. At this place the family of our 
Danish interpreter, Mr. Petersen, resided. The meet- 
ing between him and his wife and children was ex- 
tremely affecting, and was calculated to give the 
bachelor portion of our party an impression favorable 
to matrimony. Petersen invited us to his abode, and 
his consort feasted us on hot cakes and coffee. The 
authorities of Upernavick gave us the use of an old di- 



I 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 221 

lapidated store-house as a lodging-room. Some of the 
inhabitants, especially Mr. Craig, a clergyman, attended 
to our wants, and treated us in a Christian-like manner. 
We continued at Upernavick for about twenty days, 
awaiting the arrival of a vessel which visits that port 
once every year. When this vessel came. Dr. Kane 
engaged a passage for our whole company, with the 
understanding that we should be landed at the Shetland 
Islands ; but we were fortunately saved from such a 
roundabout voyage homeward. The Danish brig Ma- 
rianna^ in which we embarked, had occasion to stop at 
Godhaven, on Disco Island. We went on shore at this 
place, and were well received by the Governor and the 
inhabitants in general. After a stay of several days, 
we received intelligence from some Esquimaux that 
there were two American vessels outside. We manned 
our boat and reached one of the vessels, which proved 
to be the propeller Arctic^ which was towing the brig 
Release. Both of these vessels were commanded by 
Capt. Hartsteine, who had come in search of Dr. Kane. 
The reception of the Doctor on board was enthusiastic. 
Our men likewise met with a hearty welcome from the 
officers and crews of the two American vessels. The 
propeller towed the Release and the Danish ship out 
of the harbor. We had a prosperous voyage to New 
York. No incident worthy of particular mention occur- 
red to us while on our passage to that city. 



228 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE 



CHAPTER XXV. 

CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS — THE AUTHOR'S UNFORTU- 
NATE POSITION — RESULTS OF THE GRINNELL EXPEDI- 
TION — WHAT WAS DISCOVERED — EXPLORATIONS OF THE 
COAST — IMPORTANT ADDITIONS TO GEOGRAPHICAL 
SCIENCE — METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS — THE OPEN 
POLAR SEA — SUGGESTIONS BY THE AUTHOR — HE EX- 
PRESSES HIS WILLINGNESS TO JOIN ANOTHER EXPE- 
DITION. 

In the composition of the preceding pages, circum- 
stances compelled me to be as brief and concise as pos- 
sible ; I have therefore omitted the particular mention of 
many of my labors and adventures in the polar regions ; 
but I can conscientiously say, in general terms, that no 
man labored more constantly and zealously than I did 
in the service of the last Grinnell Exploring Expedi- 
tion. If I had merely been unrewarded for my services, 
and merely refused the credit which I thought I had 
deserved, I should have made no complaint ; but I have 
received such positive injuries as might have justified 
a resort to still more vindictive measures than the pub- 
lication of this narrative. Since my return to the 
United States, I have felt the effects of the stigma 
which Dr. Kane had aflSxed to my character. The de- 



GKINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 229 

iiunciations of such a high authority were well calculated 
to "take the bread out of mv mouth." The reader 
will not be surprised, therefore, when I inform him that 
I have found it very diflBcult to' obtain employment in 
a country where Dr. Kane's book has been extensively 
circulated ; and, for some time, I was reduced to the 
necessity of earning my livelihood by driving an omni- 
bus in the city of Philadelphia ! 

A mere reference to these facts would be a suflScient 
apology for the publication of this volume. It is 
through no fault of mine that the book was not pub- 
lished sooner. If it could have appeared before the 
decease of Dr. Kane, I should have been much better 
satisfied ; but every man who has any experience in 
the writing and publishing of books, will know that a 
poor and obscure author must encounter many obsta- 
cles in the attempt to bring a literary production before 
the public. I am indebted to the liberality and enter- 
prising spirit of Messrs. Lloyd & Co. for the oppor- 
tunity I now have to give publicity to my work ; and I 
hope the sale of the book will be suflScient to remune- 
rate those gentlemen for their generous exertions in 
my behalf. 

While bringing this narrative of the Grinnell Ex- 
ploring Expedition to a conclusion, it may be proper to 
inquire what that Expedition accomplished. It is 
scarcely necessary to remark that the enterprise failed 
in its main object, viz. the search for Captain Franklin. 
Dr. Kane and the persons under his command suc- 
ceeded in making some important additions to the geo- 
20 



230 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE 

graphical accounts of Greenland, by the discovery of 
the great Humboldt Glacier and the extension of the 
East coast of BaflSn's Bay or Smith's Sound to within 
8° 38'; and the West coast to within 7^ 30' of the pole. 
Our meteorological observations likewise must have some 
interest for the public ; but it is to be regretted that, 
among other deficiencies in the fitting out of the Expe- 
dition, no adequate provision was made for the conduct- 
ing of scientific research. 

The discovery of an open polar sea, (if admitted to 
be a genuine discovery,) would, indeed, be an achieve- 
ment of very great importance. I do not say that there 
is any thing intrinsically improbable in the supposed 
existence of such a sea at the northern extremity of 
Smith's Sound ; but, for various reasons, I suspect that 
no such discovery was made by any member of our 
party. 

My own experience and observations in the polar 
climes have convinced me that exploration might be 
carried much further than the 7th degree of North lati- 
tude. I have scarcely a doubt that the pole itself might 
be reached, if it is accessible by land travel or by 
sledge-journeys over the ice. When I made the north- 
ward journey with Dr. Hayes, spoken of in my narrative, 
I would have proceeded much further, if my supplies of 
provisions and the condition of my companion's health 
had not prevented me. In all future journeys of the 
kind, I should prefer traveling alone, so that I might 
have nobody to take care of but myself. Now I think 
that if I were landed at Cape Isabella, near the entrance 



GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 231 

of Smith's Sound, and provided with a sledge and good 
dog-team, a sufficiency of provisions and some necessary 
equipments, I could travel along the land-ice, (which 
generally affords a tolerably smooth and practicable 
track,) to a point very far beyond any which has 
hitherto been reached. My former experience in this 
kind of travel would enable me to avoid many difficul- 
ties which an inexperienced traveler might encounter. 
I should be quite willing to try this experiment, making 
my remuneration depend on my success. Such an ex- 
periment, fairly and fully tried, would either confirm 
Morton's account of the open sea, or prove that account 
to be erroneous. Possibly the experiment might lead 
to other results of still greater importance. If another 
Arctic Expedition should leave the United States, I am 
willing to be one of the party, provided I am not placed 
in a situation of abject slavery, and am assured of such 
good treatment as any American freeman, however poor 
and unfortunate he may be, has a right to expect. 



THE END OF GODFREY'S NARRATIVE. 



i 



"^Hg 




PORTRAIT OF DR. KANE. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 

OF 

DOCTOR ELISHA K. KANE, 

COMMANDER OP THE GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 

The life of a brave and adventurous man will always 
abound-with incidents. Whoever takes up this volume, 
therefore, with the expectation of finding a record of 
many striking and surprising events, will certainly not 
be disappointed. 

Elisha Kent Kane, son of Judge John Kintzing 
Kane, was born in the city of Philadelphia, on the third 
day of February, 1822. While yet a boy, he received 
a part of his education at the University of Virginia ; 
and even at this early period, though evincing a great 
aptitude for instruction, he was for a time led away 
from his regular course of study by an irresistible 
longing after new fields of discovery. Almost as a 
truant, the active lad, under the superintendence of Pro- 
fessor Rodgers, made a tour of the Blue Mountains of 
Virginia for the purposes of geological exploration. 
Thus, unlike many American youths, whose ambition 
leads them to ignoble if not disorderly pursuits, the 

(235) 



236 BIOGRAPHCAL SKETCH OF 

very frolies of Elisha's boyhood tended to the acquisi- 
tion of scientific. information. His academical studies 
were scarcely retarded by this apparent intermission, 
and he completed them with as much honor as a more 
constant application could have achieved. 

Returning to his native State, he, in due course of 
time, graduated at the University of Pennsylvania, 
first in the collegiate and then in the medical depart- 
ment. His favorite studies were those of chemistry 
and surgery ; and his preference for the latter may be 
explained by that devotion to whatever requires daring 
and self-denial, that impulse to brave those things which 
the weakness of our natures is most inclined to shrink 
from, which he always exhibited. The seeds of knowl- 
edge fell in a fertile soil ; and, in 1848, young Kane 
left his Alma Mater an accomplished classical scholar, 
a good chemist, and a skillful surgeon. 

His attention was now turned toward the sea ; partly 
from an extraordinary fondness, (we may almost call it 
a mania,) for adventure, and partly because he hoped 
that a sailor's life might strengthen a physical organi- 
zation whose fragility was a serious obstacle to all his 
designs. He applied for and obtained an appointment 
in the United States' Navy ; and immediately after his 
admission, demanded to be placed in active service. He 
was accordingly appointed surgeon to the first Ameri 
can embassy to China. While thus engaged, leave*of 
absence was ofi'ered him, and he readily availed himself 
of the opportunity to travel over a considerable portion 
of the Chinese Territory. He extended his journey to 



DOCTOR ELISHA K. KANE- 237 

the Phillipine Islands, which he explored, traveling 
principally on foot. He visited Ceylon, and penetrated 
to the very interior of India. 

On arriving at the volcano Tael, of Luzon, he could 
not resist the temptation to explore its crater ; an un- 
dertaking which was certainly as novel and perilous as 
the romantic daring of our youthful adventurer could 
have desired. But one man had attempted it before, 
and he had failed in a manner which was not calculated 
to invite any body else to finish the exploit. When 
Dr. Kane made known his intention to descend into the 
fiery gulf, he was heard by his companions with mingled 
fear and amazement, and every argument was used, but 
in vain, to dissuade him from this enterprise. His 
inclination to try this curious feat was as strong as the 
partiality which some young gentlemen show for the 
recreations of the ball-room or opera-house. Finding 
him inflexible in his resolution, a bamboo rope was pro- 
cured and fastened around his waist by the persons who 
accompanied him ; and, with misgivings of the most 
painful nature, they lowered him into the crater to the 
depth of more than two hundred feet. Not satisfied 
w^th this, he clambered down seven hundred feet further, 
over masses of volcanic fragments, scoriae, &c. He 
had provided himself with drawing materials, and now, 
with as much coolness as was ever displayed in so hot 
a situation, he proceeded to make a topographical 
sketch of the interior of this terrible furnace. He then 
filled a bottle with sulphurous acid from the very vortex, 
as it were, of the volcano, and collected some geological 



238 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF 

specimens. Had his stay been prolonged a very little 
while, the cause of his death would have been far differ- 
ent from what it eventually was ; but he was drawn up 
just in time to avert the catastrophe. However, the 
hot and sulphurous air of the volcano had nearly stifled 
him ; and, after he was dragged up, with unavoidable 
roughness, over jagged fragments of rocks and harden- 
ed lava, his companions, for a time, were obliged to 
support his almost senseless form, while he gasped con- 
vulsively for breath. He soon recovered himself ; but 
it seems to have been Dr. Kane's destiny never to be 
out of danger. The natives of this region were accus- 
tomed to worship the presiding genius of Tael, whom 
they regarded with the utmost degree of awe, as a 
being not to be thought of without fear, or approached 
rashly and without reverence. It may be imagined, 
then, with what feelings they looked on the conduct of 
Dr. Kane, who had presumed to penetrate into what 
they considered to be the inviolable sanctuary of their 
deity. At first, they seemed paralyzed by the audacity 
of the youthful stranger ; but these feelings were 
quickly succeeded by those of fierce resentment. Seeing, 
with increased wonder, that Kane was not stricken 
dead by their insulted divinity, they resolved, with 
their own hands, to make his life an expiatory sacrifice 
for his supposed impiety. The savages accordingly 
attacked the Doctor and his little party with a rage 
proportioned to their ignorance, and a desperate strug- 
gle ensued. But the natives discovered that the man 
who had been too much for Tael was too much for themj 



DOCTOR ELTSHA K. KANE. 239 

and the same intrepidity which had prompted Dr. Kane 
to explore the volcano, saved him from the conse- 
quences of that feat. 

This adventure was followed by a similar one with 
the Ladrones, who likewise attacked him, and over 
whom he was likewise victorious. At this time, Dr. 
Kane's traveling companion was Baron Loe of Prussia ; 
and in visiting the Ladrone Islands, &c., their hardships 
were so great that the Baron lost his life in consequence. 
While on the same journey, Dr. Kane ascended the 
Himalaya Mountains ; after which he directed his 
course toward Egypt. Here he formed an acquaint- 
ance with the learned Lipsius, who was then employed 
in prosecuting his archseological researches, and who was 
greatly pleased to find so much love of science in so 
young a mind. In company with Lipsius, the Doctor 
ascended the Nile as far as the borders of Nubia, and in- 
spected all the most wonderful relics of Egyptian anti- 
quity. From the Pyramids/' forty centuries looked down, 
upon him ;" and, as he surveyed those inanimate piles 
of stone, which are more immortal than the skill which 
planned and the power which executed them, he re- 
solved to leave for himself a monument built of deeds 
which have nothing to do with time and mortality, and 
whose foundation should be in the love and esteem of 
every elevated mind that should come after him. 

In Egypt he met with a hostile attack similar to 
that which he had received at the hands of the natives 
of India; but in this contiict the Doctor was severely 
wounded and narrowly escaped with his life. He next 



240 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF 

visited Greece, 'v\'hich he triangulated on foot, and made 
the scenes and objects immortalized in classic verse and 
history as familiar to his eyes as they had long been 
to his imagination. He now felt a strong desire to 
revisit his home and relatives, and accordingly set out 
on his return, passing through Italy, France, and 
England. 

He reached his native land in 1846, at the time when 
the Mexican war had just broken out. Dr. Kane re- 
quested that he might be sent to Mexico ; but the 
government was pleased to disregard his wishes, and to 
give him a more dangerous and a far more disagreeable 
mission, which ultimately contributed to shorten his 
life. He was ordered to the coast of Africa, whither 
he sailed in the frigate United States^ on an expedition 
whose object was the suppression of the slave-trade* 
Da Sourza, the notorious agent of the African chiefs 
and of the Brazilian slavers, to whom those chiefs are 
in the habit of selling their subjects, furnished the 
Doctor with a pass, by means of which he obtained 
access to the baracoons of Dahomey, and surveyed 
scenes of tyranny and misery which were hidden by a 
vail of politic mystery from the rest of the world. He 
also inspected all the slave-factories from Cape Mount 
to the river Bonny, and might have carried his re- 
searches still further had it not been for an unforeseen 
prevention. The coast-fever seized upon that agile 
and indefatigable frame, and reduced him almost to a 
dying condition. His commanding officer, Commodore 



DOCTOR ELISHA K. KANE. 241 

Reed, sent him home on the sick list, as the only means 
of saving his life. 

On reaching home, Dr. Kane soon became convales- 
cent ; but the disease had so prostrated his constitution 
that he never recovered from its eifects. He came to 
the conclusion that his health was irretrievably wrecked ; 
and, as all his previous thoughts had been bent on 
shaping for himself a useful and exalted course of life, 
nothing now remained but to consider how he could 
most gloriously die. His mind reverted to Mexico as 
presenting the most favorable field for the acquisition 
of speedy renown, and for the performance of those 
services which he wished to render to his country. 
Though now scarcely strong enough to walk, he called 
in person on President Polk", and expressed his wishes 
to be actively employed in the struggle which was then 
in progress between Mexico and the United States. 
The President, perceiving that the applicant was no 
ordinary man, resolved to assign him a duty of no ordi- 
nary magnitude. Our national Executive had been 
laboring under a serious embarrassment, in conse- 
quence of a temporary suspension of its intercourse 
with General Scott, the commander of the American 
forces. While the President wished to transmit to 
General Scott some dispatches of great urgency and 
importance, he had not hitherto been able to find any 
means of sending them safely by a route so long and 
so much beset by the enemy. With these documents, 
Dr. Kane, (though an untried volunteer,) was entrusted;i 

21 



242 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF 

and we need not speak of the alacrity with which he 
executed the mission. 

Arriving at Puebla, the Do<5tor found there Colonel 
Dominguez and his celebrated spy company, a band of 
Mexicans who had joined the American cause, and not 
being willing to incur any delay by waiting for traveling 
companions of a better reputation, he took them for his 
guide and escort. Near Nopaluca, they received the 
startling information that a large body of Mexican 
troops, much superior to their own party in force, had 
been sent out for the express purpose of intercepting 
them, and that they were now quite near. On the re- 
ception of this news, Dominguez declared his intention 
to make a timely retreat ; but Dr. Kane, aroused by 
the very mention of this design, informed Dominguez 
that if he executed his purpose, he (the Doctor,) would 
take care that the vengeance of the American govern- 
ment should deal with the recusant. His arguments 
prevailed ; Dominguez was induced to advance ; and 
they soon encountered the Mexican troops, who were 
commanded by some officers of distinguished reputation 
for valor. 

Dr. Kane ordered a charge, which he led in person, 
and the daring manner in which he threw himself upon 
the enemy at once surprised them and stimulated his 
own party. Among the opposing officers were General 
Gaona, a distinguished veteran, who had defended the 
Castle of San Juan d'Ulloa against the French ; and 
his son, who bade fair to achieve an equally honorable 
career. 



DOCTOR ELTSHA K. KANE. 245 

The battle commenced in an inauspicious manner for 
Dr. Kane's party. Dr. Kane's horse received a mortal 
wound and fell, carrying its master to the ground. 
The Doctor, however, quickly disengaged himself from 
the dead animal; and, no wise daunted, commenced 
fighting on foot. The younger Gaona, 

<<Witli that stern joy wMcli warriors feel 
In foemen worthy of their steel," 

chose Dr. Kane for his antagonist; and the conflict 
altogether, considering the limited force on either side, 
was one of the most desperate and exciting that can be 
imagined. Kane, besides his total inexperience in every 
thing pertaining to military matters, and besides the 
superiority of the enemy in numbers, had the further 
disadvantage of not being seconded by his own country- 
men. He was sustained only by a pack of Mexican 
tories, whose courage was very doubtful, and who could, 
of course, be instigated by no motives of patriotism. 
Yet such was the effect of Kane's own personal prowess 
and animating example, that, ere long, it was evident 
that he must become the master of the field. 

Young Gaona discovered that although appearances 
indicated that there was little to be dreaded from his 
adversary's physical force, he had a spirit that might 
have buckled with Goliah himself; and their combat 
was terminated by Dr. Kane's sword passing through 
the body of the Mexican cavalier. Gaona fell, cast one 
look of defiance at his victorious foe and closed his eyes» 
21^ 



246 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF 

as he imagined, forever. But he was amazed to find 
himself again a conscious inhabitant of this earth ; and 
still more so to see Dr. Kane kneeling beside him and 
dressing his wound with the utmost kindness and atten- 
tion. The Doctor, by tying up a severed artery, had 
preserved his antagonist's life ; and the young man is 
probably still living to attest the care and skill of his 
generous enemy. 

General Tarragon, General Gaona, and all their men 
who had not fled or been killed, had been taken prison- 
ers ; and, with these trophies, our party triumphantly 
resumed their march. But, before they had proceeded 
far, Dominguez and his band, with that base and mer- 
ciless ferocity which is always displayed by renegades 
against their own more patriotic countrymen, announced 
their intention to slaughter the prisoners. Dr. Kane 
was infinitely more appalled when he heard what was 
the design of his companions, than he would have been 
had he himself been their destined victim. He forbade, 
he threatened them, but they heard only the voice of 
revenge calling for her bloody banquet. He urged the 
claims of humanity and the laws of honor, but they 
neither understood nor cared for such arguments. See- 
ing his companions advancing, weapons in hand, against 
the captives, he again drew the sword which had so 
lately hewed out the way to victory, and prepared, sin- 
gle-handed, to combat the whole of his Mexican allies. 
Bent on the massacre which they meditated, the latter 
prepared to plunge their swords and lances into the 



DOCTOR ELISHA K. KANE. 241 

breasts of their prisoners, who believed that not another 
moment of life was left for them. 

But ere the uplifted weapons had quite reached their 
destination, Kane threw himself before their points, 
making his own body the shield of the doomed men ; 
and a lance, which was just about dealing the death- 
blow of one of the captives, buried its head deeply in 
the thigh of their defender. The sight of their gallant 
leader's gushing blood, shed by their own hands, pro- 
duced something like shame and compunction even in 
the minds of Dominguez and his followers ; the upraised 
blades sunk harmless, nor was any other attempt made 
against the lives of the prisoners. The latter were de- 
livered safely into the hands of Colonel Childs, the 
American Governor of Puebla, by Dr. Kane, who had 
been conveyed to that place. 

General Gaona, who owed to Dr. Kane the lives of 
both himself and his son, was a resident of Puebla^ and 
on his arrival at that place, was liberated on parole. 
He insisted on having the young American removed 
to his own mansion, where the Doctor lay ill for some 
time, from the effects of the very tiangerous wound 
which he had received. The Gaona family devoted 
their attention to him, as a beloved son and brother, 
and many a prayer did their patron saints receive on 
his account. 

So doubtful was Dr. Kane's recovery considered, 
that he was actually reported as dead to his family at 
home. After much suffering, however, he partially 
recovered ; owing perhaps to the careful nursing which 



248 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF 

he had received, but his wound was another shock to 
his constitution, by which it was permanently affected. 
The Doctor consented to wait only until he was barely 
able to continue his journey ; and then, after an affect- 
ing parting with the Gaona family, he hastened for- 
ward with the dispatches with which he was entrusted. 
General Gaona and his son were ever afterward in« 
eluded among the Doctor's warmest personal friends ; 
and when their grand-children relate the adventures of 
their progenitors in the '' American war," they will dwell 
with enthusiasm upon the chivalrous conduct of Kane. 

Dr. Kane suffered nothing to detain him until he 
reached the city of Mexico, where he delivered his dis- 
patches into the hands of the Commander-in-chief, 
General Scott. 

Before he left Mexico, Dr. Kane ascertained, by bar- 
ometrical observations, the height of the celebrated vol- 
canic mountain, Popocatapetl. On his arrival at home, 
he was presented with a magnificent sword by the citi- 
zens of Philadelphia, as a testimonial to his courage 
and public services. Soon after, he visited Mexico on 
a more pacific occasion, being ordered on the Coast 
Survey service, under the direction of Professor Bache. 
It was at this time that the first Grinnell Exploring 
Expedition, in search of Sir John Franklin, was pro- 
jected, and Dr. Kane immediately volunteered his ser- 
vices toward an undertaking which was in every way 
calculated to interest his feelings ; since it at once 
called forth his benevolence, his love of science, and his 
adventurous daring. He was, to use his own words, 



DOCTOR ELISHA K. KANE. 249 

^' bathing in the tepid waters of the Gulf of Mexico, 
on the 12th of May, 1850/' when a telegraphic mes- 
sage reached him, in which he was notified to repair at 
once to New York for the purpose of joining the '' Ad- 
vanceJ*^ 

Nine days after the receipt of this order, he was a 
good distance on his way to the North Pole, as senior 
surgeon and naturalist of De Haven's Expedition. As 
our readers are aware, no discoveries of any kind were 
made on this voyage ; but no blame can be attached to 
the explorers on that account, as all concerned dis- 
played much zeal and intrepidity. In Melville Bay, 
De Haven's vessels encountered the Prince Albert^ a 
small schooner which had been fitted out by Lady 
Franklin herself; and, for a short time, the"^ three 
vessels remained in company. The second officer of 
the Prince Albert was a young Frenchman named 
Joseph Rene Bellot, who had previously served with 
much distinction in the French Navy, and who was 
noted alike for his courage and humanity. In an evil hour 
he espoused Franklin's disastrous cause, and while prose- 
cuting the search for him, not more than a year after 
the date of which we are now speaking, he met his 
death by being crushed among the icebergs. 

At first sight. Dr. Kane and Bellot were drawn to- 
gether by the most powerful affinities ; for they were 
as much alike in disposition as in destiny. Bellot was 
surprised to find that, on every topic of conversation 
which was started, Kane had something new and useful 
to communicate; and Kennedy, the Captain of the 



250 BIOGRAPHICAL BKETCH OP 

Prince Albert^ himself a very religious man, was almost 
equally pleased at finding Dr. Kane as pious as he was 
intelligent. These three, delighted with the congenial 
society of each other, hunted together, explored to- 
gether, and together found that religion, virtue, and 
friendship can afford not contentment only but pleasure, 
even within the arctic circle. But such scenes in human 
life are never of long duration. De Haven and Leask, 
(the sailing-master of the Prince Albert^) each deter- 
mined to pursue a different route. The loss of Kane's 
society seemed to Bellot a pang almost unendurable ; 
and the Doctor, ever after, held his young friend in the 
most affectionate remembrance. 

After an absence of about fifteen months, the Ad- 
vance and Rescue returned from that voyage, the 
details of which are to be found in Dr. Kane's " Per- 
sonal Narrative," his first book, which was published 
early in 1853. Lieutenant De Haven, in his official 
report, while speaking of the medical officers of his 
vessels, says : " My thanks are due to them, especially 
to Passed Assistant Surgeon Kane, the Senior Medical 
Officer of the Expedition. I often had occasion to 
consult him concerning the hygiene of the crew ; and 
it is in a great measure owing to the advice which he 
gave, and the expedients which he recommended, that 
the Expedition was enabled to return without the loss 
of one man." 

It was about this time that Dr. Kane, after so many 
triumphs, found his conqueror ; and, what is still more 
humiliating to confess, submitted to the fetters of cap- 



DOCTOR ELISHA K. KANE. 253 

tivity without a single hostile demonstration. Marga- 
ret and Kate Fox, the two younger of the celebrated 
trio of " medium*' sisters, visited the city of Philadel- 
phia, where they gave some demonstrations of their 
^' spiritual gifts." Probably from mere curiosity, the 
first motive of all who investigate these matters, the 
Doctor attended one of their circles. 

Margaret Fox, concerning whose personal attractions 
much has been said and written, was then some nine- 
teen or twenty years of age. She is a young lady of 
medium stature, with regular features, rather full face, 
brilliant black eyes, and hair of a corresponding hue. 
What was Dr. Kane's opinion with regard to Spiritual- 
ism we are not authorized to state ; but he found that 
there was an "influence" in the above-mentioned eyes, 
which the consistency of his heart was not tough 
enough to resist. The first evidence which he gave of 
his afi"ection was one which proved not only his good 
sense, but his wish to confer a solid and lasting benefit 
on the fair seeress. He had her given an excellent 
education at his own expense, advised with her teach- 
ers, and took pains to inform himself of her progress. 

Why cannot we bring this portion of our narrative 
to that pleasing conclusion which, with a novelist, would 
be inevitable ? Dr. Kane's family had risen to great 
eminence, not only in pecuniary wealth but in the 
honors of the land ; and it was their cherished wish 
that the hope and pride of their house should ally him- 
self with the cre^ne de la creme of American aristocracy. 

Margaret Fox was of very humble birth and con- 
22 



254 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF 

nections ; but this consideration had less weight with 
the Doctor himself than the fact of the dubious, and 
to Mm repulsive notoriety of which she had long been 
the subject. The name of *^ spirit-rapper/' with the 
pointings and gazings of the mob, the sneers of the 
ribald newspaper press, and the imputations of char- 
latanry, seemed dreadful to the man who had fearlessly 
confronted the weapons of both savage and civilized 
foes. On the one side, were his love and all the real 
and imaginary perfections of its object ; on the other 
side, filial duty and that reputation which he held more 
precious than his life. To a person of the Doctor's 
keen sensibilities, this was really an agonizing dilemma; 
and, while he looked with mortification and self-blame 
on his own wavering, it seemed almost equally impossi- 
ble to take or to renounce the hand of Margaret. 

But it is not to be imagined that even love could bind 
Dr. Kane to an inactivity of long duration. The un- 
satisfactory result of his cruise with De Haven was an 
afflictive disappointment to him, and he was seized with 
a longing desire to make a more thorough exploration 
in the far North. The idea that Sir John Franklin 
was still alive and within the reach of human aid, had 
taken full possession of his mind ; and, in his dreams, 
he alternately saw the tear-dimmed eye« of Lady 
Franklin fixed upon him in silent imploration, and 
heard the weakened voices of the suffering mariners 
calling for release from their icy prison. He addressed 
a letter to Mr. Grinnell, in which he expressed the 
opinion that Sir John was now " to be sought for north 



DOCTOR EMSHA K. KANE. 255 

and west of Cornwallis Island;'' and added as follows : 
^' As to tke chance of the destruction of his party by 
the casualties of ice, the return of our own party after 
something more than the usual share of them, is the 
only fact that I can add to what we knew when we set 
out. The hazards from cold and privation of food may 
almost be looked on as subordinate. The snow-hut, 
the light and heat of the moss-lamp fed with blubber, 
the seal, the narwnal, the white whale, and, occasionally, 
abundant stores of migrating birds, would sustain 
vigorous life. The scurvy, the worst visitation of ex- 
plorers deprived of permanent quarters, is more rare in 
the depths of a polar winter than in the milder weather 
of the moist summer ; and our two little vessels en- 
countered both seasons without losing a man." 

The arguments of this zealous pleader induced our 
government to authorize another Expedition, which was 
to be under Dr. Kane's command ; and Mr. Grinnell 
proposed to dedicate the brig Advance, (which had 
formerly been used by De Haven,) to the service of 
this undertaking. Dr. Kane received his orders from 
the Navy Department in December, 1852, and occu- 
pied himself with the most active preparations for his 
departure until the 30th of the following May, when 
the Advance set sail for that dreary region, among 
whose icebergs she herself still lies imprisoned. Thus 
it was actually but little more than one month after his 
return from an arctic voyage, in which he had endured 
countless perils and hardships, before Dr. Kane began 
to prepare for engaging in a longer and more venturous 



256 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF 

exploration of the same nature. In fact, he had no 
sooner returned from his cruise with De Haven, than 
he was busied in planning another departure, allowing 
himself no time to rest and recover from the fatigue 
and oppressive recollections of the scenes and labors 
through which he had so lately passed. 

The particulars of Dr. Kane's last arctic explora- 
tions have been detailed to our readers in the body of 
this volume. We all remember how, during the pro- 
tracted absence of the explorers, the apprehension that, 
in seeking to rescue Captain Franklin, Dr. Kane had 
involved himself in that Commander's dreadful and 
mysterious fate, grew almost to a hopeless certainty in 
the minds of his countrymen. Who does not remember, 
too, how the voice of joy and congratulation was heard 
over the land when the intrepid adventurer returned, 
as one from the dead ! 

It may be noted, as one among many proofs of the 
deep affection with which Dr. Kane was regarded by his 
relatives, that his brother. Dr. John Kane, eagerly em- 
braced the opportunity to accompany Capt. Hartstein's 
Expedition in search of Elisha ; and that he, (Dr. J. 
Kane,) discovered traces of his brother which might 
have been overlooked by the less watchful anxiety of 
the rest of the party. 

To make the satisfaction of all more complete. Dr. 
Kane appeared to be in decidedly better health than he 
had enjoyed before his departure ; so that it appears 
probable that had he given his system the rest and 
careful attention it demanded, he might have been living 



DOCTOR ELISHA K. KANE. 257 

at this moment. However, immediately after his 
arrival, he set about composing the history of his Expe- 
dition and preparing it for the press. It is said that 
his addresses to Miss Margaret Fox were resumed on 
his return to the United States. We feel some reluc- 
tance in making any allusion to this delicate affair ; 
and we merely refer to it as a part of Dr. Kane's 
history, which we have undertaken to write. His 
attachment is supposed to have survived an absence 
of more than two years, during which no correspond- 
ence between the parties was possible. But the same 
obstacles to their union, which we have previously 
mentioned, still existed. In the meanwhile he was 
closely engaged in preparing his journal for publication. 
Such a task is always extremely heavy to one who is un- 
accustomed to authorship ; but Kane applied himself 
to this new business with untiring assiduity. Yet that 
was the very crisis when he most needed repose and 
recreation, instead of that close confinement and severe 
mental labor to which he devoted all his time. He 
arose from his finished labor to find that all the health 
and vigor he had possessed at the time of his return 
were now at an end ; and in announcing to a friend 
the completion of his work, he observed, " This book, 
poor as it is, has been my coffin !" 

Then came the almost unendurable heat of the sum- 
mer, whose exhausting effect on the Doctor's constitu- 
tion, after two winters spent at the North Pole, may 
be imagined. Yet still, hard as it may be for some 
mmds to conceive his motives, he thought more of the 
22* 



258 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP 

preservation of other lives than his own. The hurden 
of his thought was still, ^^ Franklin must be saved ; and 
I am ordained by Heaven to be instrumental in this 
work." " This he believed, (says his father, while 
speaking of this strange yet touching fancy of the 
Doctor's,) as none but the true-hearted can believe 
any thing." 

To favor the resolution he had formed, the British 
government, as a testimonial of England's appreciation 
of his labors in Franklin's cause, offered Dr. Kane the 
command of another Arctic Expedition, to be fitted out 
at the expense of that government. He accordingly 
prepared to go to England for the purpose of entering 
upon his mission ; and the news of his intended visit 
was received by Lady Franklin with such a thrill of 
joy as she had not for years experienced. She had a 
house elegantly furnished expressly for his use; and 
awaited, with intense eagerness, the arrival of every 
steamer, in hopes that each was the one which was con- 
veying to her sight the champion whom she had so long 
desired to meet. 

Two days before Dr. Kane's departure, the Mayor 
and a number of eminent citizens of Philadelphia ad- 
dressed a letter to him, extolling his actions, expressing 
their regret on account of his ill health, and requesting 
his attendance at a public dinner to be given in his 
honor. To this he returned the following answer : — 

Philadelphia, October 8, 1856. 
Gentlemen : The condition of my health compels me 



DOCTOR ELTSHA K. KANE. 259 

to decline your invitation. It is especially grateful to 
me that so many names, associated with my earliest re- 
collections and regard, should thus testify their kind 
feelings. I beg to assure the gentlemen whom you 
represent of my regret at being unable to meet them. 

I am, very faithfully, your ob't. serv't. 

E. K. Kane. 

To the Hon. Richard Vaux, Mayor, Right Rev. Alonzo 
Potter, and others. 

On the very day on which this note was penned, Dr. 
Kane sailed for Europe, and from the steamer's deck 
took a last view of his native city. He had wasted 
away to such a degree, that those who saw him at that 
time declared that he appeared like a mere shadow ; and 
to a friend who accompanied him to the ship, he com- 
plained of extreme weakness. But even these symp- 
toms were less alarming to his relatives and friends 
than the fact that, for the first time in his life, he took 
his leave of them under the impression that, with the 
eyes of flesh, he should never see them again. His 
health had been indifferent for many years, and many a 
perilous journey had he undertaken, but never before 
had the anxious family seen that bold and intrepid 
spirit yield to a presentiment of disappointment and 
death. The steamer in which ho embarked left Phila- 
delphia on the 8th of October, 1856 ; she stopped at 
New York, from whence, on the ensuing Saturday^ she 
set sail for England. 



260 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP 

Dr. Kane was received in England with marks of 
unusual distinction ; but he waived them all, very 
rarely appeared in public, and by avoiding every 
ostentatious tribute which was offered him, he proved 
that the object of his visit was not the gratifica 
tion of a vain desire of applause. The meeting between 
Dr. Kane and Lady Franklin was like that of affection- 
ate relatives, who had long been separated. He still 
clung to the idea of another Arctic Expedition ; but his 
friends and physicians earnestly assured him, that if 
he did not seek relief in a warmer climate, he would 
soon be totally unable not only to visit the North Pole, 
but to stir out of his room, or his bed. He accordingly 
visited the Island of St. Thomas, West Indies ; but ex- 
periencing no relief there, soon departed for Cuba. 
He seems to have labored under a complication of 
diseases ; and while far gone in a consumption, he suf- 
fered much from inflammatory rheumatism. Although 
from the insidious nature of Dr. Kane's disease, it was 
not thought to be fatal, one of his brothers, on hear- 
ing of his departure from England, set out to meet 
him at Cuba. Soon after his arrival at Havana, Dr. 
Kane had a stroke of paralysis. When the news of 
this alarming and unexpected symptom reached his 
friends at home, his mother immediately started for 
Cuba, accompanied by one of his brothers. 

At this juncture. Dr. Kane's health appeared to im- 
prove. On the arrival of his relatives he was in good 
spirits, and seemed to have some hopes for the future. 
The hopes of his friends rose likewise, and they pleased 



DOCTOR ELISHA K. KANE. 263 

themselves with the idea that he would soon accompany 
them home in renewed health. Alas ! the cruel revul- 
sion was only felt the more keenly by his relatives, 
when, a few days after, he was again attacked, and sunk 
so rapidly, that it was impossible to escape the convic- 
tion that he was dying. A telegraphic dispatch, dated 
February 13th, 1857, announced to his friends in Phila- 
delphia, that he was not expected to live through that 
day. Contrary to his own expectation, and that of 
others, he was still alive on the following morning. 
His mental faculties were perfectly clear, and so re- 
mained to the last. Though quite aware of his condi- 
tion, he was as tranquil and composed 

<* As one who wraps the drapery of his couch 
Around him, and lies down to pleasant dreams." 

He was now unable to speak, but in obedience to a wish 
which the watchful love of his mother contrived to inter- 
pret, she employed herself in reading to him from the 
sacred Scriptures. While she was reading the follow- 
ing passage : " Let not your heart be troubled ; ye be- 
lieve in God, believe also in me. In my father's house 
are many mansions. I go to prepare a place for you'' — 
his brothers perceived that he had ceased to breathe. 
There was neither struggle nor groan ; and so gently 
did he expire, that his mother still continued reading 
for some moments, unconscious of her loss. 

The Spanish authorities at Havana, on the occasion 



264 BIOORAPHiaiL SKETCH OF 

of Dr. Kane's death, made demonstrations very unusual 
with them, by showing every possible mark of respect, 
and following, in company with some of the most emi- 
nent citizens, the remains of the arctic hero to the 
steamship Cahawha^ by which they were to be conveyed 
to New Orleans. When the body was conveyed on 
board of the steamer, a funeral oration was delivered 
by the Governor of Havana, Don Jose Ignacio d'Echa- 
varia. At every city through which the remains passed, 
on their homeward route, every testimonial which grief 
and respect could suggest was offered to the memory 
of the deceased. 

On the afternoon of March 11th, the railroad train 
which conveyed the honored corse arrived at Philadel- 
phia. The coflSn was conveyed under a military escort 
to Independence Hall, where the body lay in state that 
night, guarded by the military company called the 
Washington Grays. At 12 o'clock on the following 
day the funeral procession started for Laurel Hill 
Cemetery. The coffin was covered by the American 
flag, and entirely overlaid with the choicest flowers, 
among which was a magnificent w^reath, contributed 
by the ladies of Philadelphia. The sword presented 
to Dr. Kane by his fellow-citizens, on his return 
from Mexico, was also placed upon the coffin. At 
the Second Presbyterian Church, an able and affecting 
funeral sermon was delivered by the Rev. Mr. Shields, 
after which the body was conveyed to its destined 
resting-place at Laurel Hill, and deposited in the 
family vault. 



DOCTOR ELISHA K. KANE. 265 

The American muse has offered many tributes to the 
memory of Dr. Kane, from among which we select the 
following, by a very young authoress, which we con- 
sider very much to the purpose. 

LINES TO THE MEMORY OF DR. E. K. KANE; WHO DIED AT 

HAVANA, CUBA. 

BY MISS MARGARET E. WILMER. 

A tropic eve, an ever-vernal isle, 

Glowed gorgeous round their musing hero-guest, 
As fancy's future still he bade beguile 

The present'^ pain, slow ravening in his breast. 

He saw afar, a dark and frozen land, 

Where only dwell, (and they how loath to dwell !) 

One haggard, hopeless, ocean-banish'd band ; 

To him they look, and the imploring hand 

Outstretch ; for he must break the frost-fiend's spell 

Upstarting, saint or bard inspir'd, he seems, 
Then sinks, to suffering feebleness resign'd, 

As when some captive, who of freedom dreams, 
Wakes, at his fetter's clash, its weight to find. 

He bore a viewless, yet a crushing chain. 

Though to its sway bent but the fragile dust ; 
For his the conqueror's soul, in martial plain 
Triumphant, as o'er Fire, and Frost, and Main ; 
And his the Christian's ever dauntless trust. 

"This boon alone from life I crave," he sighed, 
** To seek yon wanderers of the stormy pole, 
Till o*er one faithful lady's cheek, the tide 
Of anxious bitterness no more shall roll. 

23 



266 BIOaRAPHICAL SKETCH OF 

« Eut Thou who, from such night as haunts the tomb, 

Once heard my prayer, from the chill * wii?.d-lov'd spot,' 
Thou, through that vigil of enduring gloom, 
With thine own light, did'st still my soul illume : 
Nor shall I be in Death*s dark shade forgot.'' 

What though, where silent lies that dreamer pale. 
Now wave the very flowers he lov'd to rear, 

He lives amidst us in the wild, sweet tale 
He left, — the sum of glory to declare. 

The wish, heroically kind, which woke 

Such hope elate the lost of years to save. 
Warm teeming in his heart, even while it broke, 
' Shall sympathy's most tender drops invoke 
From all the gentle, chivalrous and brave. 

Let grosser souls his vision vain deride. 
Nor dread his *' frenzy" ere shall be their own: 

Such madness makes the bard's, the hero's pride ; 

'Tis to each high, each generous deed allied, 
And fires the bosoms of the Great alone. 

Dr. Kane, at the time of his death, was thirty-live 
years of age, but was still younger in appearance. He 
was about five feet seven inches in height. His person 
was extremely slender ; so that, in his best Health and 
condition, his weight did not exceed one hundred and 
thirty pounds. His frame was constructed with a de- 
licacy almost feminine, which, with the great refine- 
ment evinced in his whole appearance, made it difficult 
to reconcile his identity with that of the intrepid ad- 
venturer who had endured the extremest hardships of 
every quarter of the globe. His hair was of a dark 



DOCTOR ELISHA K. KANE. 26T 

brown, or chestnut color, his complexion fair, his eyes 
dark gray, and so bright and piercing, that almost every 
one who saw him seems to have been struck with their 
resemblance to those of an eagle. His forehead was 
high and broad, his nose inclining to aquiline, the 
mouth and chin small, and very finely cut; while 
nothing could be more resolute, or more indicative of 
cool and composed courage than the expression of his 
whole face. 

Like most others on whom Nature has bestowed a 
pleasing exterior, Dr. Kane was disposed to set off his 
person by all the advantages of dress ; and, while pro- 
jecting an Arctic Expedition, he did not forget to keep 
his hair in curl, and to choose becoming vest-patterns. 
His deportment was modest, even to shyness, and he 
could not be brought to converse on his own achieve- 
ments, or the honors which had been paid to them. He 
talked rapidly, but with a sententious brevity and curt- 
n^s of expression, while all his motions betrayed the 
restlessness of his disposition. 

Besides the narratives of his two arctic voyages, 
Dr. Kane was the author of various scientific treatises 
and several lectures, on subjects connected with polar 
exploration. 



THE END. 



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A WORK SURPASSING IN THRILLING INTEREST THE 

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CONTAINING 



A full account of his Adventures, Discoveries, and 
Exploits from his Birth to his sad Burial 

in the Mississippi River. • 

WITH AN ACCURATE PORTRAIT OF DE SOTO. 

400 PAGES, A^D 100 BEAUTIFCL ILLUSTRATIONS. 

With Charts of the Mississippi River from the Gulf of Mexico 
to the Falls of St, Anthony. 

Erery Man, Woman, and Child should read this thrilling work. 

Price (paper edition) 60 cts. ; bound elegantly $1.00, 

J^* Sent by Mail, free of postage, to any part of the United States and 
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[RlCJm GUIDE &RilLRO 




Sloee i\}e |r)bei)tIoii of IM J^ocoifootibe to il]e ^i^e^erif Jih)e. 

oonsrT.A.i3sri3sra- 

The Life of Oliver Evans, Inventor of the Iron Horse ; Correct En- 
graving of the first Locomotive ever built. 

Account of the Laying of the First Railroad Track in the United States ; 
First Locomotive brought to this country ; Gradual Improvements in the 
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A complete List of the Stations, Towns, Cities, and Distances, also 
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With New arranged Time Tables, so correct and simple that a 
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Advice of the utmost importance to the safety and comfort of Rail- 
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300 Pages.— One Hundred Engravings. 

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DR. LIVINGSTONE'S 



Explorations and Adventures 

IN THE 

WILDS OF AFRICA. 

386 large 12^no. pages. lOO splendid Engravings. 

Price (Paper Edition), 50 cents; bound in Cloth, with gold, $1.00. 

Description of Discovery in Africa ; A Is'^gtv Race of Africans Discovered 4,000 miles 
farther in the interior of that country than was ever traveled before by any European 
— their Habits, Customs, Manners, and Peculiarities. 

Discovery of a Miarhty River, navigable 600 miles — ^its Course, Length, Depth, &c. 

Dr. LIYIJS'GSTOXE Discovers Rich Gold Mines, of the value of which the Natives 
know nothing ; Religious Belief of the Natives — what they worship. 

Lion Hunting ; Elephant Hunting ; Rhinoceros Hunting ; Hippopotamus Adventures ; 
Description of the Animals of Africa. 

Description of Lake Ngami — its length, depth, and width ; Account of the different 
Animals that frequent it. 

His Reception by the Wild Tribes he discovered — his treatment by them ; He Jour- 
neys on to another Tribe, remains 17 years with them ; prepares to return to England. 

Commences his Journey of 3,000 miles through a Country full of Wild Animals ; At- 
tacked by four Lions ; Two Natives killed on the spot, and the Doctor crippled for life. 

Thrilling Adventures on his way Homeward ; is saved from drowning by his faithful 
Native Guide while attempting to swim the River Zambezi. 

Desperate Fight with enraged Elephants ; three Natives slain ; the Doctor gives him- 
self up as lost, but is unexpectedly rescued from death. 

Safe Arrival at Cape Town, after enduring unparalleled hardships ; Death of Ms 
favorite Native Guide, who throws himself into the sea from fright at seeing a Steam- 
ship ; Safe Arrival in London ; greeting by friends who had given him up years ago 
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With a Valuable Map of Africa, drawn by Dr. Livingstone, showing his Explo- 
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is now being penetrated by two different Expeditions. 

Being one of the most readable Books ever issued. 336 large 12mo. 
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Almost any Agent can maT^e $10 j^er day canvassing for our PuVUcations, tchich 
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Now Ready.— Price only 50 Cents. 

il TBIli AND VNVARMSHED NARRlTlVfi 

OP THE 

Grinnell Exploring Expedition 



TO THE 



9 

In Search of SIR JfOHJ^'' I^R^JTMI^UVy 1853-4-5. 

By WM, C. GODFREY, one of the Survivors of the Expedition. 

How far Northward we proceeded — First Winter in the Arctic Ocean — Dis- 
coveries made — "Winter Quarters — Exploring Parties sent out from the Ship 
— What they Discovered — Death of two of our Party caused by Exposure — 
Kane's bad Health — Comes near being Frozen to Death — Crossing the 
Channel from the East to the West Coast of Greenland by Dr. Hays and 
the Author — Nearly Starved to Death — Cut up our Seal Skin Boots to Eat — 
Snow Blindness — Morton and Hans, the Esquimaux, start out Explodng— 
Return and Report having seen open Water — No one else seen it — Prepare 
for the breaking up of the Ice — No hopes of ever getting the "Advance" 
from the Icy embrace of the Arctic Ocean — Prepare to spend another dismal 
Winter in the Arctic Sea — Coal gives out — Intense Suffering- — Crew all Sick 
with the Scurvy — The Author sent ninety miles to an Esquimaux Village 
for fresh Meat — Dreadful Suffering on the Trip — Returns Successful to the 
" Advance" — Dr. Kane calls him a Deserter while in the frozen barriers of 
eternal Ice — Tries to take his Life — Shoots at me Twice — The Ball strikes 
near me without Effect — Esquimaux visit us — Their Habits, Customs, and 
Peculiarities — What they Subsist upon — Tli*ir kindness to us — All hopes of 
ever reaching Home again nearly vanished — Scarcity of Food and Clothing 
— Cut up parts of the Ship to warm by — Melancholy forebodings — We must 
Perish or leave our Vessel and retreat 300 miles across the Arctic Ocean — 
Extreme Cold Weather — 3,000 hours of total Darkness — Low Spirits of the 
Crew — Dr. Kane starts to go in search of the supposed open Sea — Esqui- 
maux desert him to Hunt Bears — Dr. returns to the vessel out of humor — 
The Sun seen for the first time in Three Months — Preparations for abandon- 
ing the Ship — We bid the "Advance" a last Farewell — All hands called — 
Solemn Prayer to Heaven delivered by Dr. Kane— We commence our Re- 
markable Boat Journey — Great Suffering — Esquimaux ke-ep us from Starv- 
ing — Death of Ohlsen, the Carpenter — A Grave unexpectedly found at the 
Spot — Arrival at open Water — Burn one of our Boats — Save arrival at 
Uppernavick — Captain Hartstein takes us on board the " Arctic/* and we 
arrive at New York — Conclusion, and Biography of Dr. E. K. Kane from 
the Cradle to the Grave. 

300 PAGKS IIiIiUSTRATKD. PRICB 50 CBNTS. 

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OR. UVINOSTONE'S 

17 YEARS' 

Explorations and Adventnres 




OJITE BUjrnnED EjrGn^vijrGS. 

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